


Call For The Lovers

by Dan13la



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: But He's So Oblivious, Fires, First Kiss, Getting Together, Hurt Theo Raeken, Inspired by a Charmed Episode, Jealous Liam, Jealous Theo, Liam Is So Damn In Love, Living Together, M/M, Minor Corey Bryant/Mason Hewitt, Mythology References, Oblivious Liam, Original Evil Character, Sleeping Together, Theo Raeken is Liam Dunbar's Anchor, Theo is a Little Shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-01-11 18:30:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18429716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dan13la/pseuds/Dan13la
Summary: A story about serial fires, a mysterious someone luring into a death trap people in love, and Theo and Liam stumbling over their feelings for each otherEnglish is not my language, sorry for any mistake!





	1. The Beginning

It must have been just three o'clock in the morning when, with a start, Liam found himself staring into the darkness that filled his room, the only dim light coming from the half-open window in front of him. He blinked, confused, trying to remember what he was doing. The last thing he remembered was he and Theo lying in his room’s bed watching a movie.

He must have fallen asleep. Clearly. Because now the TV was off, and the sky outside the window was definitely darker than when they had started their movie night.

Still drugged with sleep, he wondered what could have woken him up like that at three in the morning.

He fucking hated waking up in the middle of the night, it was the worst way ever to start on a Monday morning. He snorted and writhed in bed, moving to lie down not on his side but on his back. He froze all of sudden when he heard someone moan in protest next to him. Only then he did become aware of the slow and steady  _thump thump_ beside him, and of the sweet and lingering Theo’s smell that enveloped him completely. Liam held his breath, and with his body still tense, his head moved slightly to the left to look at the sleeping boy.

Theo was on his side, his face turned towards him, and he slept soundly, his lips slightly parted and tufts of his blond hair sprawling before his eyes. He was so damn beautiful.

Liam took a deep breath, feeling creepy being here staring at the sleeping chimera, and forced his eyes to stare at the ceiling. It was then that he realized it was covered by the duvet, and Theo was not. Duvet with which he could not remember covering himself.

This could only mean that after he had fallen asleep while watching the film, Theo had made sure to cover him and then put himself back beside him to finish the film, ending up falling asleep too.

There was nothing strange in that, Liam thought, if two friends fell asleep on the same bed watching a movie. Nothing at all. They were also roommates, since Liam had invited Theo to live with him as long as he didn't have the money to pay for his own apartment. And then there was a blanket to divide their bodies. Nothing strange. Nothing embarrassing. Yet Liam couldn't help but blush at the thought of Theo tucking him in. A pleasant feeling of warm and protection enveloped him, as he let himself sink deeper into the covers, a smile on his lips, closing his eyes, inaling that familiar scent, until Morfeo called him back.

 

*

 

When the alarm went off three hours later, there was nothing left of the comfortable night before. The insistent ringing of the alarm a few inches from his ear. The sun that slammed over his eyes bully like it wanted to blind him. His mum from downstairs who urged him to get up or he would be late for school. And there was no more the warmth of Theo's body next to him.

Liam grunted and banged the pillow on his face. He stayed like that for a few seconds, hoping to die choked, when someone suddenly knocked on the door. Liam grunted again. 

"Liam" The werewolf took the pillow off his face at the sound of Theo's voice. "We'll be late" he snorted, his voice muffled beyond the wooden door, but his teasing and amused tone would have been able to filter over ten security doors.

"Yeah yeah I’m gettin’ up," Liam groaned.

"You also said it 15 minutes ago. Or at least ... " Theo tapped the door again, then Liam heard his voice progressively lower and lower as he clearly moved away. "I guess that was the meaning of your grunts."

"Fuck you asshole," Liam muttered, finally sitting up, while Theo's crystal laughter echoed in his ears.

 

When he went downstairs, fully dressed, Theo was sitting at the kitchen table, and his mother had just laid a plate of pancakes in front of him. Liam let her peck a quick kiss on his forehead as she walked back to the kitchen, and he sat next to Theo. The chimera followed his actions with his usual snarky grin, as he shoved a forkful of pancakes into his mouth. "Good morning, sleepin’ beauty."

Liam glared at him as his mother came back, handing him his plate and finally sitting down in front of the two boys. "Good morning, pain in the ass"

"Liam, language" his mother scolded him.

"Yes, Liam, language," Theo teased him, taking a sip of orange juice.

Liam looked at him deadpan for a few seconds and then commented "You know, you're nicer when you sleep"

Theo turned to look at him, with an even more dodgy expression than usual. "Yeah, you too" he said, malice oozin’ from his words. Liam frowned, wondering if there was something he didn't know. He decided not to ask. Better not to know. He didn't want to give Theo other chances to tease him. Lately he seemed to be able to do just that.

So he turned to his mother, starting to eat his pancakes.

"Where's dad?"

"An emergency, he had to rush to the hospital early this morning," she replied.

"Emergency? A car crash?” Liam asked, for sake of conversation.

"No, a fire" she replied, with emphasis on the last word.

Liam frowned. "A fire?" That was new "What’s burned?"

"A house, there seems to be nothing left. And he also involved a few houses and cars nearby "

"Hey look" Theo interjected. Liam saw him grab the remote and raise the TV volume. "They’re also talkin’ about it on TV"

Everyone turned to look at the woman from the local news, who was standing in front of a destroyed house, surrounded by yellow police ribbons, talking in the direction of the camera.

"The fire broke out this night at around 3 am, according to a neighbor's witness, involving Jeremy and Maya Hudson’s home, a newly married couple still in their thirties. The fire, which devastated their home, also involving the nearby buildings, cost the life of the husband. The woman is still in a guarded prognosis, in very serious conditions, while there were five other hospitalizations following smoke fumes, although not serious. Investigators are investigating to trace the nature of the fire, if intent or negligent. For now, they seem to grope in the dark ..."

Theo raised the remote again to lower the volume.

"Pretty bad deal" Mrs. Geyer said, shaking her head and getting up to collect the dishes. "Those poor guys ... just married ..." she sighed as she disappeared into the kitchen.

Theo and Liam looked at each other. "Do you think that ...?" Theo began.

Liam snorted "No, there is absolutely nothing supernatural in a fire, Theo" he said then standin’ up.

 

*

 

"Okay it's definitely something supernatural"

Mason dropped onto the desk in front of Liam's, panting as if he had run. Liam didn't even bother to look at him, keeping rereadin’ his Biology notes, muttering a simple and exasperated "Good morning to you too, Mase"

The story of the fire had followed Liam to school. Everyone everywhere, in the hallways, in the classrooms, in the courtyard, seemed to do nothing but talk about it and shoot less and less plausible theories about it, as if it were seriously the most incredible thing they had ever seen. Really, as if they hadn't seen a giant werewolf nearly raze the school a year earlier. As if the most of ‘em hadn't seen the ghost riders riding horses kidnapping souls. As if they had not taken part in a crusade against the supernatural just two months before. Ah people are so strange.

And Mason, more than anyone else. In the past few months, after the hunters and Anuk-ite issue, Mason seemed determined not to be unprepared for any attacks. Even at cost of storing the entire bestiary. But this meant that he had become also paranoid. A little too much. He saw theories of supernatural conspiracy everywhere. And Liam, at first, a little out of boredom, a little for that need for adrenaline that always characterizes the periods of peace, had given him an inch... yeah, the first twelve times. At the thirteenth, when Mason had tried to convince them that the  _trolls_ were responsible for stealing the snacks from the school's vending machines, Liam had there drawn the line.

 

"Why not? A fire. It is suspect. We're in Beacon Hills, dude." Mason protested, widening his eyes.

"This does not mean that everything that happens is supernatural. It's just a fire, Mase, they might have left a candle lit or there was a short circuit or ... "

"Parrish went up in flames too close to a bush?" Mason suggested 

"Or there was a gas leak..." Liam kept undaunted.

"Either a witch sacrificed them for some satanic ritual..."

"An ember slipped out of the fireplace and set fire to the rug..."

"Maybe a dragon! No a Viverna! A Mephit! Ohoh an firestarter...  _No,_ it's definitely the demon Asmoday!!" Mason exclaimed with a dazed expression.

Liam stare at him with wide eyes, his pen balanced in his fingers. Mason looked at him back for a few seconds, calming his breath and returning to his normal tone. "Too far?"

"What, they were next in my list of hypotheses," Liam said sarcastically. "Oh oh you know, maybe the house was hit by a spaceship, which triggered the fire, and now little aliens are hiding among us" he continued ironically.

Mason snorted, rolling his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, Liam" he said, sitting upright in his chair, finally giving his best friend his back.

Luckily Mason was human and couldn't sense the chemosignals, because Liam really wanted to kill him right now.

 

*

 

Liam's bad mood faded slightly during the morning. He had gotten an A + to his story paper, Finch had decided not to use him as a sacrificial victim for the review of the previous lesson, and after the third period, everyone seemed to have forgotten about the fire. Even Mason. And now he, Liam and Corey sat peacefully at a table in the cafeteria, ready to enjoy their well-deserved lunch. There was nothing that could upset him now. Except...

Liam moved his head left and right, unscrewing his bottle of fruit juice, and peering around the faces around them. "Have you seen Theo today?" He asked then.

Mason shook his head.

"I had Spanish with him the third period" Corey shrugged "He's probably in the library. You know he's a nerd"

"Sure of course" Mason grinned. "Rather than the library, he'll be with that guy again."

Liam looked at his best friend, over his little bottle, almost choking on the apple juice. "Wha-what guy?"

Corey glared at his boyfriend, who lost his grin and looked at Liam "Ah no ..." he said casually. Liam raised an eyebrow.

Corey sighed and decided to take the situation in his hand “It's just a guy we saw Theo talking to a few days ago. They are probably just friends”

“Oh” Liam just said, looking down at his plate. "Of course" he then continued more positive with a grin, which came out more like a grimace. "As if someone could bear to hangin’ out with that asshole more than as a friend." And he stabbed his broccoli with a rough forkful.

Corey and Mason shared knowing looks “Of course” they sarcastically answered together 

 

*

 

Lacrosse practice was crap. Liam didn't remember ever playing so bad. He couldn't focus on the playbooks, and he missed even simple shots. Today was not definitely his day. He just wanted to go home and drown himself into a hot bath. And then fall asleep and find out that was already tomorrow. When the coach dismissed them with a string of curses, Liam sighed, went into the locker room and grabbed his bag. He didn't want to stay there a second longer, even at the cost of giving up the shower. Just when he was out in the parking lot he did  remember that it was usually Nolan his ride home after practice, but he, as every normal person, was probably still in the shower. He cursed internally and threw the bag next to his friend's red car and then sat on it. From bad to worse.

While he was playing with his cell phone, he vaguely sensed a car pull up beside him. He looked up as Theo pulled the passenger side window down. Liam widened his eyes in surprise, getting up. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Your mom sent me to bring your dad dinner. I thought I could pick you up too, as it was on the way" he said, looking careless

Liam looked at him in a bewildered way "The school is not on the way to the hospital" he observed slowly.

"Liam, just get in, or I'll leave you here"

"Okay, okay" Liam laughed, picking up the bag and throwing it in the back, before getting on the car.

He had not even closed the door that Theo had already splashed away.

 

Liam quickly texted to Nolan that he had left, then put the phone in his pocket and focused on the road that was speeding past him out of the windshield. Now he felt visibly more relaxed. He glanced at Theo, who was humming the song on the radio, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, his hair waving slightly from the wind coming through the half-open window. He knew the bad mood had disappeared as soon as he saw the chimera. And he also knew that it had started since he woke up in the morning with not more his presence next to him. And for him, the 'bad mood' was different from that of normal people. Yes, because he was a werewolf with IED. And he knew that often his 'bad mood' had caused troubles, for himself and for others. But not with Theo. When he was close to him, Theo was like a balm for his anger. It seemed to vanish into thin air.

The word  _‘anchor’_ bounced in Liam's mind for weeks now, from the day Theo had stopped him from killing Gabe in the locker room. And for the first time that evening, wrapped in Theo's scent, feeling him smelling of happiness, as he drove peacefully toward the hospital, Liam really gave shape to that word. _Theo was his anchor._

It made sense. It made perfect sense. And Liam felt hopelessly calmer now.

Then he linked that the reason for his restless today was probably due to Theo's absence. Liam turned to him "Where were you at lunch today? We didn't see you at all” he muttered, tryin’ to hide the annoyance as Mason and Corey's words about  _that guy_ came back to his mind _._ Who was he? Liam had never seen Theo talk to or about anyone else other than the three of them. Of course, Theo could have other friends besides them, although the idea of Theo socializing without ulterior motives was still quite foreign to Liam.

"I was in the library. You know, I need to buckle down and get serious if I want to make up for the months I lost while I was dead” he said slightly, giving him a fast glance. Liam always envied his ability to talk about his death as if was nothing. "I have a make-up exam next week, if I don't pass it, I don't think I'll graduate with you" he continued, turning to finally enter the hospital parking lot.

"You know, if you need I can help you ... just with history, sure, but anyway… there is Mason, he is a little genius, when he does not theorize unlikely ideas about supernatural creatures of doubtful existence" Liam hastened to say, while Theo parked, reaching into the back seat to get the food prepared by Mr Geyer, snorting a laugh at the remark about Mason.

"Well yeah about that-"

 

A shot on Liam's window stopped Theo. The two boys turned abruptly to meet the figure of Sheriff Stilinski, standing in front of them. Liam opened his door and with Theo got out to meet the man. Stilinski looked at them one by one, his face tense and a little exasperated. "I had to imagine it," he sighed, running a hand over his face. "So what do you know?"

Theo and Liam looked at each other. "What do you mean, Sheriff?"

Stilinski looked at them, the tension loosening a little. "Aren't you here because of the fire?" he tried.

"No" Theo lifted the envelope "Just bringin’ dinner to Dr. Geyer"

" _Ugh_ " he moaned, "I'd die for a cheeseburger right now" He turned and followed the boys to the entrance.

"Why did you ask about the fire? You suspects there is something ...  _supernatural_ ?" Liam whispered the last word.

Stilinski looked around and put his hand to his forehead. "Okay," he said then, taking Liam by the shoulder and gently guiding them to a corner. "Something strange has come out from the man's autopsy."

"What?" Theo urged, raising an eyebrow.

"His lungs were literally charred."

Liam narrowed his eyes. "I thought it was normal in the event of a fire" he said slowly.

"If the lungs are charred, the body must be unrecognizable by now," Theo observed.

"That's the point," Stilinski said. "The body has first-degree burns, it no longer has hair ... but it is not charred. Only the lungs are. Besides ..." The sheriff stopped.

"Besides  _what_ ?" Theo urged him again.

"From the blood tests it appears that there are no traces of carbon monoxide in his body. It means that he  _didn't inhale smoke_ "

"How is that possible?"

"Ah it's not possible. It is as if he had burned to death before the fire broke out, without ... there was a damn fire"

"And what about the wife? What does she say? She will surely know that happened"

The sheriff sighed "Unfortunately she didn't make it. She died a few hours ago." Theo and Liam looked at each other and remained silent. After a few seconds the sheriff resumed. “We know the fire started in the bedroom. But there is nothing to suggest what was started by.”

"Maybe  _we_ could do an inspection. See if there are other traces, other  _smell_ ?” Theo suggested, looking first at the sheriff and then at Liam.

"Well. Can you pass by ... tomorrow afternoon, when forensics is finished? I'll have you to find Parrish there."

"Good." The sheriff patted Liam on the shoulder and smiled at Theo before disappearing down the hallway.

"Do you think it really could be something supernatural?" Liam asked suddenly agitated

Theo met his eyes and shrugged thoughtfully "I don't know. It would be an ambiguous way to kill, don't you think? Fancy, almost premeditated."

"You know, nothing surprises me anymore. The only thing I regret is that I will have to give Mason the satisfaction of being told he was right"

 

*

 

The next day, the first part of the day passed like any other day. This time Theo made his appearance at lunch, and he and Liam went to the Economy class they had together. Eventually before they parted, since Liam had English Literature, and Theo a free period that he would obviously spend in the library, they agreed to meet at the end of the school day outside in front of the pick-up to meet Parrish at the crime scene.

 

When the final bell rang, Mason and Corey joined him at the lockers. "Are you going to check the fire house today?" Corey asked. Liam nodded, closing the locker and carrying his backpack over his shoulder. "Do you want to come?"

Mason sighed "I'd love it, but I think it's better with only you with overdeveloped smell being here"

"Yeah, too many smells around could complicate the search even more" Corey commented wisely, as they walked one beside the another to the main door. "Where's Theo?"

"We'll meet at the pick-up," Liam replied with a half smile, turning in the direction of the car visible from a distance. What he saw made him stop in his tracks, and let the smile slip away from his lips. Mason slammed on him and Corey stopped, imitating him. "What are you doing, Liam?" his best friend protested as he and Corey followed his gaze.

 

Leaning against the pick-up door, his hands in his sweatshirt pocket, was Theo, talkin’ cheerfully with a tall, smiling boy whom Liam had never seen. The boy in question had just torn a piece of paper from a notebook, writing on it something and handing it to Theo who took it with a smile, putting it in his pocket. The boy said something to him before touching lightly the chimera’s arm with one hand and walking away.

"That's the guy Theo was with the other day," Mason observed, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh," Corey agreed, turning to Liam. The wolf cleared his throat weakly. "Well there's nothing weird about right? Theo can have a friend, can’t he?” He said, not convincing at all, tightening his grip on the shoulder straps of his backpack.

"Yes of course ... a friend"

"Mason" Corey whispered . But Liam was already striding towards Theo.

 

"We have to tell him. He hasn't figured it out yet, it's not possible ..." Mason whispered.

"We can't tell him. He has to get there by himself" Corey protested.

" _It's Liam_ . Theo will have time to marry and have children before he realizes it!"

 

Theo looked up at Liam, when the wolf was still a few yards away from him, and gave him a smile. "Hey, took you long enough! Ready to go?" he asked him cheerfully, turning around the car to reach the driver door.

"Um ..." Liam stared at him a little taken back, before merely nodding. "Yeah, let's go"

He turned to Corey and Mason, waving to them before getting into the car.

 

On the way, Liam couldn't help but ogling at the boy next to him, who whistled happily to the rhythm of the songs, as he always did when he was driving. And he couldn't help but take on a frown. Not because Theo had no right to be happy. Indeed, perhaps he deserved it more than anyone else after what he had gone through, but ... for some reason the thought that he had been so beaming in the last few days because of  _that guy ..._ made him nervous. While his wolf, for some reason, whined sadly at the image of those two talking close together in the parking lot, Liam’s mind was crossed by the selfish thought that he wanted to see Theo smile like that only to him. So he turned to look out the window as not to look.

 

*

 

"I don't know what you plan to find" Parrish said, raising the yellow line to let them pass. Theo looked at the now destroyed building as they climbed the driveway. Liam had to agree with Parrish. "I don't sense anything else other than the burning smell" he said.

"Can we come in?" Theo asked. "Or does we risk everything to fall all over our head?"

"The firemen have put the building in safety for now, to allow us to continue the investigation. But it will be demolished anyway soon" Parrish explained, stepping in from the threshold, where the door had been removed from its hinges.

"Will it be demolished even if the investigations are not over?" Liam asked, contemplating what was left of the inside. There were mostly burnt pieces of furniture, blackened walls, and soot and ash everywhere.

"Yes, forensics took everything they had to. Keeping it standing would be a safety hazard. Come, the bedroom is this way.” He led them down the hallway beyond what remained of a wooden door. A burned-in wardrobe, with the semi-detached mirror, a window without curtains, a wire mesh with a partly burned mattress on it was all that remained. And ash, so much ash. Liam coughed, covering his nose. His eyes began to burn. "You can't breathe here" he choked. Then he looked petulantly Theo "Why doesn't it bother you?"

"Cause I am not a wuss?" Theo teased him, with his usual grin.

"Fuck you, asshole" His watery eyes and trembling voice ruined the bite behind his words.

Theo chuckled as he approached the mattress. "I'm just better than you at splitting up the smells," he replied, looking at him. "I've had years to practice. And the sewers were certainly not the most scented place in the world"

Liam snorted, then looked at Parrish. "So the fire started here?"

"Yes, but we couldn't figure out how"

"They also were here, right?" Theo asked clearly following a smell, his eyes scanning the room. Parrish nodded. "The remains of the man were on the bed, while the woman was on the floor near the door"

"Did you smell something?" Liam asked, following Theo closely with his eyes.

"It is weak, it seems ... it looks sadness? ... real anguish, to be exact" Liam and Parrish exchanged a puzzled look.

"Why was that man on the bed? Was he lying there burning?" Liam asked confused.

"Well if the autopsy is correct, he stayed there because he was  _already_ dead" Theo replied.

"Chorred lungs before the fire started. How is that possible?” Parrish asked.

"That's what we have to find out."

 

*

 

The next day, Liam awoke with a start, when someone decided to sit on his bed, shaking him hard. He issued a moan of protest. He was tired of being woken up like this.

"Liam!" Theo's voice called to him. Something in his tone made his eyes snap open. He seemed worried, and Theo was never worried.

He met Theo's green eyes and sat up. "What's up?" asked suddenly awake

"There was another one" the chimera just said. But Liam already knew what he was talking about.

There had been another fire. And someone else was dead.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Here we go with another story! Hope you liked the first chapter, it was mainly a introductory chapter, more action and more Thiam will be in the next ^_^


	2. There's Nothing Between Us

When they got to school, everyone seemed to be in turmoil. However the mood was darker than two days ago. In fact, hearing the chatter in the hallways, they found out that the two people who had lost their lives that night were the parents of one of theirs classmates. Liam didn't know him, it was someone called Lucas, but that certainly didn't make things better. By other voices, they heard that the boy was not at home that night, because apparently he crashed with a friend.

 

"Look, I have a theory," Mason said, as they were at lunch that afternoon. Corey, Liam and Theo turned to look at him, pending. "Whatever it is, I think it hunts down couples"

"Well all the four victims were married, but it's too soon to call it a pattern," Theo said, skeptical.

"The only way to know is to wait for the next fire," Corey said, but stopped at Liam's outraged look. "We can't just  _wait for the next._ We have to do something!"

"What if the second was just a crackpot?" Mason suggested, and Theo pulled out his cell phone. "There's only one way to find out" he stated, dialing the sheriff's number.

 

*

He was not a crackpot. The fire had always broken out at three in the morning. No trace of the origin of the flames. The bodies were always in the bedroom. The man had chorred lungs, but no carbon monoxide in his body. He had been found on the bed, while his wife was on the floor near the door.

This time, the sheriff had called Theo on the scene right away, hoping the smells were sharper. And now Liam and Theo were standing in the middle of the burned bedroom. Liam tried to help, trying to split up the smells from the burning smell. Something sour struck him, a kind of strangely familiar smell. A smell he had often heard on himself recently, he thought. "What is this sour smell?" He asked curiously.

"The same as yesterday ... it's sadness, anguish" Theo muttered.

"Isn't it strange to be sad while you burn?" The sheriff commented, with the face of one who was really done with these crap

"Not really, because there's another smell here." Theo looked at them. "There was a third person in there. And it  _reeked_ of anger.”

 

*

 

After the inspection, Theo drove back to school to drop Liam at the lacrosse practice. Although Liam would have gladly taken the day off, the coach wouldn't let it drop smoothly.

Theo and Liam had spent the ride in a mutual silent, both evidently taken by their thoughts. Theo decided to speak only once he arrived at destination.

"Do you have a ride back home later?" He asked as he slowed to a stop.

"Mhh, you know I always come back home with Nolan," Liam replied slowly, because he already knew where that was getting at.

In fact, Theo looked at him, pursing his lips as he always did when Liam named Nolan. Liam snorted with amusement. Usually Theo was an impassive mask in every situation, but strangely when he was talking about the ex-hunter he couldn't not show his annoyance. For this reason, Liam was also sure that Theo's 'deviation' of the day before to school while he was going to the hospital, was due to wanting to prevent Liam from returning home with Nolan.

"He's a nice guy, you know. You should give him a chance. And then you should understand him better than anyone else." Liam looked at him with what Theo usually called 'puppy eyes' while he unbuckled his belt.

"Mhh," Theo just said, tapping his index finger on the steering wheel

"Why does it bother you so much? He's just Nolan, he's definitely not a evil genius. The other day on the field he passed out seeing Corey bleed from his nose."

"I don't like him," Theo just said stubborn, tightening more his grip on the steering wheel, looking out of the windshield. Then he turned to Liam with a grin. "But seems you like  _all_ the hopeless cases."

Liam looked at him genuinely confused. "What would that mean?"

"Nothing," Theo snorted "Didn’t you have practice?" Theo urged, raising his eyebrows in his direction.

Liam looked at him for another two seconds before opening the door and sliding out.

"See you at home, asshole," Liam greeted him.

"Sure, wolfie"

Liam growled weakly at the nickname as he walked away, with Theo giggling in his ears, starting the engine.

 

*

 

The practice was more exhausting than usual. Or maybe it was simply Liam who felt weaker than ever. As he stumbled across the lacrosse field, he was thinking of these last two mysterious fires, of Theo, of the anchor, of that guy with which the chimera was talking in the afternoon ... and slowly his thoughts had gone more forward spiraling, finding himself thinking of Lucas, of how it must have felt to lose his parents so suddenly, what he would do if it happened to him, and his mind by chance led him to Scott and the pack, all long gone to enjoy college life while they were still stuck in that hell of a limbo.

Liam jumped when someone put a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Nolan beside him. He realized only now that he had stopped to catch his breath, and his friend had imitated him, with his shoulders hunched and his hands on his knees, panting for air.

“You alright?” He asked, with one last breath, finally regaining the ability to speak.

"Ah-ah, do you think coach will notice if we now run like hell to the exit?" Liam muttered, looking for the coach on the sideline.

"I prefer not to find out" Nolan rolled his eyes, looking instead at the team that had almost made a complete turn reaching them again.

Liam instead kept his eyes on the coach, now distracted talking to a tall boy who was handing him what looked like a big bunch of keys. He started when he recognized the guy he had seen with Theo.

"Hey Nolan"

Nolan looked back at Liam. "Uh?" When he saw that Liam was staring at another direction, he followed his gaze.

"Who's the guy talking to Coach?"

Nolan shrugged. "Um ... He's in my Economy class. He's the assistant of the librarian, he  always stay here until late- Come on, let's go.” Nolan pulled Liam, grabbing him from the forearm, towards the mass of players, as they passed by them, before the coach noticed their little moment of break. "Why are you interested?" He asked as they ran.

"I’m not interested, let alone if I'm interested in  _that_ " Liam stammered hastily. "It's not even remotely interesting, not at all" he added sourly.

"You know now that I think about it..." Nolan said, as a shadow of realization passed over his face. "I saw that guy often talking to Theo in the library. They seemed to get along very well,” he finished with a mischievous voice, glancing at him.

"Really?" Liam mumbled, his heart stuttering strangely in his chest at those words.

"It surprised me, you know ... yeah ..." Nolan continued vaguely, waving his hands as he kept running beside Liam. "I thought there was something between you and Theo ..."

Liam stopped abruptly, and the player behind him hit him hard, crashing down right into the ground, while two others dodged him quickly, and a third stopped to help his teammate. "What the hell, Liam," the poor victim mumbled.

Liam ignored him to look with wide eyes at Nolan who had stopped, giggling a few steps away from him. "Me and Theo ...? You .. did you think that me-  _me_ and Theo ...? Tha- that’s ridiculous!" Liam exclaimed, forcing a laugh, which didn't sound convincing even to his own ears. Nolan had to be of the same mind as him because he raised his eyebrows. "Why not? Theo is hot."

"Theo hates you" Liam pointed out.

"That doesn't make him any less hot. And ... you didn't deny the fact that Theo is hot"

Liam snorted. "I have eyes, I know that Theo is hot"

"You're hot too"

"Thanks?" Liam answered, squinting hesitantly.

"Please."

"Anyway,  _this_ doesn't matter" Liam exclaimed, shaking his head. "There’s nothing between Theo and me." Liam nervously giggled again at the ide , as his heart seemed of another opinion, flickering painfully in his chest again.

"Better this way," Nolan said quietly, with another shrug. "Because as you said, anyone with eyes sees that Theo is hot. You would definitely have too much competition” And with that, he ran away behind the others, while the coach started to whistle insistently. Liam could not help but stay there, feeling -who knows why- suddenly very miserable.

 

*

 

When Nolan pulled out of Liam's house, greeting him quickly, Liam got out, the cold air on his still wet hair that made him shiver. He shuffled with his heavy bag over his shoulder along the driveway, and looking up he noticed that Theo's pickup was not at his usual parking lot. Frowning in confusion, Liam opened the front door, stumbling inside.

"I'm home," he shouted to be heard by his mother.

"Welcome back, honey," her voice answered from the kitchen. Liam marched towards it, finding her intent on cooking dinner. "How was your day?" She asked, giving him a smile.

Liam shrugged his shoulders, sitting at the kitchen counter and grabbing one of the slices of bread his mother had already cut and piled into a bowl. "Don't spoil your dinner," she warned softly, stirring something red that vaguely resembled a tomato sauce in one of the pots.

Liam turned away and looked around casually. "Where's Theo, mommy?"

"I don't know, he passed by here to get changed and then he went out. He said to not wait him for dinner."

Liam froze with the slice of bread out of his mouth. "Why?" He asked immediately, widening his eyes. "Didn't you ask him where he had to go?"

"Honey, who did you take me for?" Liam looked at her deadpan, raising an eyebrow. "Okay, I  _might_ have asked him if he had a date and he  _might_ not have denied it," she admitted then.

"A date" Liam repeated slowly.

"Yes he was wearing that blue shirt I gave him for Christmas, instead of one of those horrible sweatshirts of yours, so I thought-.."

"Mom, Theo  _doesn't go out_ for dates" Liam exclaimed, as if only the idea was unthinkable. "I mean, did you see him? He can't even put a sentence together without an insult, a sneer and a possible punch ... can you picture him on a date?"

This time it was his mother to turn to look at him deadpan. "Didn't you think that maybe he behaves like that only with you?" She asked then, with an allusive look, pouring pepper into the sauce.

"Because he's an asshole pain in the ass"

"Or maybe because this is his way of showing interest. He show affection as a child would do" she tried again

Liam was confused. "So you're saying he’s stupid?" He narrowed his eyes at his mother.

She rolled her eyes with an exasperated snort, bringing a hand to her forehead. Liam was so trained to receive insults lately that he felt that his mother was about to tell him that he was the only stupid here, and that she was holding back just because he was his mother. Liam was even more confused.

She took a breath, pouring more pepper. "He's not stupid, he's very smart. And he is very hot”

"Oh God, please mom!" Liam exclaimed horrified.

"It's the truth," she said with a shrug, wiping her hands on a cloth and marching to the living room. "He's hot and it's normal he has dates, Liam, live with it."

Liam let out a suffering groan and grabbed the pepper bottle pouring more into the pot.

"I wish people would stop reminding me"

 

*

 

Liam already knew he wouldn't sleep until he heard Theo's pick-up going up the driveway and Theo stepping in his room. With an annoyed snort, he turned over in bed to look at the alarm clock. It was past midnight. He gasped and grabbed the phone. He unlocked it and opened the chat with Theo, then lingering with his fingers over the keyboard. A few seconds later, he changed his mind, locked the phone again and placed it on the nightstand again, pulling the blanket over his ears. Where the hell was Theo at that hour of the night? Had something happened to him? Liam began to panic slowly as he thought about the hunters, Monroe or whoever the hell was going around burning houses lately, and had almost decided to call Scott when he heard a car park doorstep.

He stood still listening, his heart pounding loudly in his chest, until he heard the front door open and steps on the stairs. Theo's familiar and sweet smell reached his nostrils almost immediately, and he felt his body relax against the mattress, while his heart against his will throbbed painfully several times against his rib cage. He heard Theo stop in the middle of the corridor and then walk past his room to the door of Liam's. Liam held his breath, his shoulders turned to the door and the blanket over his ears, as if like that he could really make Theo believe he was asleep.

"Liam, are you still awake?" Theo's voice whispered through the door. Liam didn't answer. That asshole obviously didn't catch the message and opened the door slowly. "I sense you are awake, idiot" he whispered.

"So what are you asking me for?" Liam muttered, his voice muffled without moving from his position. He heard Theo tiptoe towards his bed, and then sit down. Liam pulled his head up looking at him, his hair shot in all directions. "Sit down if you want, Theo" he said sarcastically.

"Thank you" Theo said with a grin, taking off his shoes and settling his back against the headboard and legs on the bed. "Nice hair"

"Nice slap face"

"Was it an insult or a compliment?" Theo asked, looking down at him. Liam snorted and sat up, imitating Theo's position, the covers slipping into his lap.

"I was going to call Scott and report you lost" he informed him quietly. Theo laughed. "Don't laugh, I'm serious. And because of Mason, I could have named at least twenty different creatures that might have kidnapped you."

" _Aw_ you were worried about me, wolfie?" Theo teased him, nudging him lightly on the arm. Liam gave him a push by knocking him out of bed into a twisted pile.

"Don't call me that, I told you"

Theo got up and went back to his place as if nothing had happened, with his usual fucking grin on his face. "Won’t you ask me where I've been?"

Liam stiffened beside him, avoiding looking at him. He felt a pang at the pit of his stomach, when he felt a slight, different smell hovering over Theo's clothes. "No" Liam replied drily.

"Good ‘cause I wouldn't have told you,  _wolfie_ " Theo's grin widened even more if possible. Liam wondered if he was doing it on purpose.

"Theo, why did you come here? Couldn't you wait a reasonable hour to tease me?” Liam groaned, grabbing the pillow and pressing it to his own face.

"Every hour is reasonable to tease you," Theo replied wisely. "Would you like a movie?"

Liam lowered his pillow and looked at him sideways. "It's almost one"

"Wow, I didn't think you knew how to read the clock"

"Fuck you, if it's the only way to shut you up it's okay. You made my sleep gone" he snapped, standing up.

"Well! Hey put the sequel of that movie with Stiles' lost twin and those giant killer scorpions"

Liam looked at him shocked as he stood in front of the TV. "First of all, they are not scorpions. Two, the film is called Maze Runner, it's not that difficult. And three- "Liam snorted amused. "Thomas and Stiles have absolutely  _nothing_ in common"

"If you say so," Theo commented, rolling his eyes. Then he clapped his hand on the spot next to him, and Liam jumped up. As the credits started, Liam glanced at him, lingering a little too much on his blue shirt, the first two buttons unbuttoned. "Don't you want to ... undress?"

Theo raised an eyebrow in his direction, the sneer that uncontrollably made its way back to his face. Liam realized too late what he had said. "I did not know you were so bold, wolfie. Well, if you ask so nic-" He started to unbutton another button, but Liam pushed him off the bed again. Theo laughed aloud, staying lying on the floor.

"Remind me to ask Mason if by chance even the Grievers are real, because if so, I will find them and I’ll feed you to them"

 

*

 

For the umpteenth time that week, Liam woke up with a start. And this time he wasn't the only one. He distinctly felt Theo's breathing rise below him as the chimera awoke with a start. Wait ...  _below_ -?

Liam's head snapped up, still confused by sleep, while Theo also opened his eyes. He realized he had fallen asleep with his head on Theo's shoulder, and that the warmth on his hand was due to the fact that he was resting on Theo's warm chest. Liam felt the blush spread on his cheeks as he sat up. "Sorry" he just mumbled, avoiding Theo's eyes. He groaned internally thinking that he had just earned a month of teasing about that.

Theo rubbed his eyes and sat up. "I told you you're nicer while you sleep," he just said. Liam finally looked at him with wide eyes. "Also last night ...?" He gasped.

Theo didn't answer but laughed. "You were very cute... yeah, until you started snoring"

Liam was outraged "I do  _not_ snore!"

"Repeat it as well if it makes you feel any better about yourself" Theo said quietly. "What the hell time is it?" He turned to the alarm clock. "Three o'clock?! What the hell?" Theo stopped suddenly, eyes widening, a surprised expression on his face. Liam looked at him worriedly. "What is up?"

" _Shhh_ !" Theo whispered looking at him. "Do you hear it?"

“Hear what?” Liam whispered, imitating him. Theo put his finger on his lips to tell him to shut up, then point it out, to tell him to focus on outside noises. Liam sighed but he obeyed, crossing his legs and sitting down facing Theo. And even closed his eyes. He was still not good at managing all his overdeveloped senses, especially at the same time.

 

Suddenly he heard it. It looked like a song. Harmonious. Very beautiful. Faraway. But at the same time it seemed to echo everywhere. Liam suddenly felt drained, and had the strange desire to get up and follow it to the source. He didn't like that feeling. It was like floating, but without any control. He shivered and instinctively, in the dark, raised his hands. He immediately felt Theo's hands tightening around his wrists. "Liam!" He called with urge into his voice. Liam's eyes widened and he met Theo’s wide and worried ones’. "What was it?" Liam asked breathlessly.

Theo tightened his grip on his wrists even more, as if to anchor himself in order not to get up and run really toward whatever it was.

"I don't know," Theo answered sincerely. "That was weird."

Liam took a shuddering breath, while Theo slowly, almost reluctantly left his grip on his wrists. Liam pursed his lips, suddenly missing that warm touch, holding back the urge of grabbing again Theo’s hands. "Wait ... let's think …” he muttered “Maybe it has to do with this story..."

"You’re talkin’ about the fires?" Theo asked, skeptical.

"Yes, that is bizarre fires, that’s weird singing, we are in the fuckin’ middle of the night- uh, Theo, it's again _almost three_ " Liam's eyes widened.

"Okay maybe you're right," the chimera exclaimed.

"Can you figure out where the sound comes from?" Liam asked, leaping to his feet.

"Maybe" Theo jumped off the bed, reaching for the window to listen better. He listened for a few seconds, with Liam anxiously beside him. Finally he turned to look at him. "About five miles from here, to north-east" he decreed.

"It's close to the police station," Liam reflects.

"Okay call Stilinski, we go there in the meantime"

 

*

 

The pick-up stopped suddenly just a few yards from the burning house, where there were already two police cars, flashing sirens, parked in the middle of the road to stop possible traffic. Theo and Liam went down, making their way through a small crowd, surely the occupants of the neighboring houses, who had left hastily. Many were in pajamas, robes and slippers. They were soon blocked by a man in uniform, his hands extended to keep everyone at a distance.

"Sheriff," Liam called, drawing the man's attention. Stilinski turned, making quick steps toward them. "Let them pass," he ordered quickly. The deputy obeyed, casting a doubtful glance at the two.

 

"So?" Theo asked, looking at the fire in front of them.

"Your call was providential. The neighbor's son says he came back 15 minutes ago and there was no sign of smoke or flames. Now we just have to wait for Parrish.” The sheriff kept his gaze fixed on the building's barely visible front door. In the distance you could hear the sirens of the approaching fire brigade.

Liam narrowed his eyes at the man. "Parrish- what about Parri-?" Then he understood, turning pale. "Don't tell me he is-?"

The sheriff merely nodded. "What are you worried for? It’s not like he can die burned" Theo said. At that moment, the side window exploded into a thousand pieces, while a piece of ledge fell burned. Someone screamed as pieces of glass flew everywhere, moving away. Theo instinctively pushed Liam back with his hand. "Okay, he should get a move" he corrected himself.

 

It took another three minutes before Parrish, in a tattered uniform, and the body blackened by the soot appeared in the doorway with a woman passed out in his arms. Afterwards it was a confusion of ambulances and paramedics who were helping injured, firemen who extinguished the flames, finally extracting the lifeless body of the man, and policemen questioning the witnesses. Liam and Theo stood in a corner, waiting .

"Whoever it was, it’s gone," Liam said annoyed. "So we will never catch it in the act!"

"I don't know" Theo looked around scanning the crowd "If I were in its place, I wouldn't leave. I would stay here, aside, mixed in the crowd, admiring the destruction I created." Liam looked at him amused. "Basic psychology" he explained later. "Sorry but how many classes do you follow?" "Enough, wolfie"

Liam rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Is there a clinical definition for your compulsive bitching? I think it's pathological "

"I won't insult you just because now I'm impressed by your extraordinarily provided vocabulary"

"Do you know this was an insult?"

Theo snorted a laugh.

"Look, smartass..." Liam continued, "So I guess you know what his next move will be?"

"Actually, I think so" Theo gave him a satisfied look. Liam raised an eyebrow in his direction, urging him to speak. "We ruined his work of destruction, the woman survived, so this will upset our friend"

Liam paused to think, his gaze fixed on the destroyed building. Then he looked at Theo understanding "It wants to finish what it started" he exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Yeah, and we'll be there waiting for it"

 

TO BE CONTINUED

  
 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I said I would end it in two chapters, but then I started writing and couldn't stop, as always. This came out a bit as a flat chapter, nothing really happen apart Liam being Liam. Hope you like it anyway, and next will be definitely the last ^_^


	3. Have You Finally Realized It?

"Do you think it will take a long time for this elusive arsonist to show up? I should be studying" Theo said, completely sprawled on one of the chairs along the hallway.

Liam looked at him exasperated from the seat next to his. "I'm astonished you didn't bring the books with you." Theo rolled his eyes. "And anyway, if we have been here for 5 hours, it is thanks to your  _analysis_ of criminal psychology" Liam petulantly put air quotes on "analysis" "-that apparently is wrong"

"It is not my  _analysis_ that is wrong," Theo pointed out, imitating Liam's air quotes on 'analysis' "it’s this dude being weirdo"

"Yes, of course it is" Liam teased him.

Theo looked at him "I foresee that I am going to punch you"

"What are you, a soothsayer no- _ouch_ !"

Theo punched him on the nose, not too strong to make him fall from his chair, but enough to make his eyes water, his hand pressed on it.

"See? I was right"

"Fuck you, asshole"

Theo couldn't help but laugh.

 

*

 

It was just 8 am, when Mason and Corey pulled out of the clinic.

"News from Liam?" Corey asked.

Mason glanced at his cell phone as they went down. "Still nothing. Maybe we can find out something before it's too late."

Corey followed him, his face skeptical. "Do you think Deaton knows anything about it? Mason, you literally read the whole Bestiary at least five times!"

"Six, but that's not the point." Mason gave two decisive knocks to the door, before looking at Corey. "Considering what Liam told us tonight, I formulated a hypothesis about what it could be, but there are discrepancies with what is written on the Bestiary-"

"So you want to confront you with Deaton?" Corey understood, while footsteps sounded inside before the vet opened the door. He looked at them briefly before waving them inside.

 

"So what can I do for you?" Deaton asked quietly, watching them, his hands resting on the metal table. Mason approached, placing the bestiary on it.

"It's about the fires," Corey said. Deaton didn't even blink, probably inviting them to continue.

"Someone is targeting couples apparently. It burns the husbands' lungs and lets their wives burn in flames. And then it disappears into nothingness" Mason reported.

Deaton nodded. "Yes I read in the newspapers. Why do you think there is something supernatural?"

"Apparently, the lungs of the three dead men were charred even before the fire broke out. And the flames always seem to have sprung from nothing ... " Corey said slowly.

"Also last night, Liam and Theo intercepted the site of the fire before it burst, following thanks to their super-hearing a ... strange song" Mason gestured. "They said that whatever it was, it seemed like ..."

"A magnet?" Deaton suggested, circling the table to join them, and opening the Bestiary.

"Yeah!" Mason exclaimed. "And of course, I thought about the mermaids first. According to mythology, they attracted sailors with their songs, and to follow them, they threw themselves into the sea, drowning."

Corey opened his eyes. "Is it a mermaid, then? Are they real?"

"Obviously they’re real” Deaton said quietly. "If there are werewolves, kitsune, druids ... then we should begin to accept the fact that all the legends are true"

"This is not very reassuring" Corey sighed. Then he looked at Mason. "What is it that doesn't come back to you then?" He said, recalling his earlier words

"Well there is a big antithesis between our pyromaniac and the mermaids described by the Bestiary" Mason said in an obvious tone. "Fire and water. Which sea creature would kill using fire? I mean- it doesn't make any sense!"

"I can answer to this" Corey and Mason turned abruptly to Deaton, hopeful. "I've never met any of them, but I know there are two kinds of mermaids. There are the mermaids of the sea, scaly creatures with tails that live in the water, attracting with their song people who sail in their realms. It is a genetic kind. You have to be born like that, you can’t become one of them. And their ability to survive in water is due to their icy heart. The mermaids do not know feelings, neither good nor bad. They are ... just empty" he explained. "Then there are the mermaids of fire. They are women, who once were mortal, so they have human features, they could be any woman you met on the street. Unlike their water sisters, it is not a genetic factor, but you do become like this"

"In which way?" Corey asked curiously, his eyes wide open and with bated breath. Mason meanwhile flipped through the Bestiary.

"If the water mermaids have no feelings, the fire mermaids are born precisely by  _burning_ feelings"

"Like hatred?" Corey asked.

"Like revenge" Mason reflected.

"Usually yes. They are women who died during their human life with a great desire for revenge, and reborn in this new form. However, they are cursed. They are made only of that burning feeling, they can't feel anything else, they can't escape it"

"It's horrible" Corey said.

"Why doesn’t it talk about it here?" Mason asked curiously.

"Thinking about the mermaids, you searched under 'sea creatures' I guess?" Mason nodded. "But fire mermaids are not sea creatures, they are magical creatures. We can say they are very similar to witches."

"Do witches also exist?" Corey asked in shock.

"Oh yeah" Deaton said, amused. "And I wish you never to meet them."

Mason meanwhile was following his crowded thoughts. "So this woman, this mermaid ... hunts down couples for revenge ... for something that happened to her in life?"

"How long does a mermaid take to be reborn after her human death?" Corey asked.

"Here says a few weeks" Mason read, once found the right page. 

"We need to talk to the sheriff. If she started from Beacon Hills, she may have died right here and recently."

"Is it important to know who she is? Isn't it enough to know how to stop her and let Theo and Liam know since they're waiting for her in the hospital?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know how she can be stopped" Deaton replied, shaking his head.

"And the Bestiary says nothing about it. Except that they are immortal creatures."

"I don't like that" Corey said, looking at his boyfriend and then Deaton.

"Me too. What if they were indestructible?”

Meanwhile Deaton looked thoughtful. Then he looked up at the two. "Did you just say that Theo and Liam are waiting for her in the hospital?" He looked worried.

"Yeah they think she will come back to kill the woman who was saved tonight"

"It could be dangerous, they shouldn't be there"

"Why? I thought she only killed married couples. And Theo and Liam, they are not, they are not even a couple, because they are two idiots"

"And yet you said that they heard the song tonight. It means they were attracted"

" _Ahh_ " Mason sighed with a groan, pulling out his cell phone. "She probably doesn't just look for married couples, she attracts anyone  _in love_ "

 

*

 

She appeared out of nowhere. A woman, long auburn hair and deep green eyes as much as icy. Pants and black leather jacket. The woman scanned the hospital room, then looked at the unconscious woman lying on the bed. She approached slowly, almost contemplating the best way to finally take her down. She touched the IV tube with his index finger, and finally a flash of decision passed over his face. Then-

"Who are you? You can't stay here!” A man's voice exclaimed, annoyed. The woman turned to face the deputy, with calculated movements, her face impassive. Her cold eyes walked down the man's body to rest on his right hand, tightened around the gun in the holster, where a wedding ring sparkled on his finger. A half smile flashed on her face as she took two steps toward the man. With locking lips, she began to murmur a chant, sticking her eyes into the deputy’s ones. She got in front of him, slowly raising her right hand to stroke his cheekbone. The man slid his hand, first tightened around the gun, inert along his side. He seemed in a trance, unable to look away from the mermaid’s eyes.

"I want you to get out of here," she said softly in a slow, sweet voice. "I want you to leave this place at any cost, and ignore anyone who tries to stop you."

He nodded slowly and mechanically. Then he turned as if nothing had happened and left the room.

 

Now she could finally focus on her prey.

 

*

 

"I'm going to get something from the vending machine" Theo growled suddenly.

"You just can't sit still" Liam remarked amused as the chimera rose. Theo ignored his comment. "Do you want something?" He asked instead.

Liam shook his head, watching Theo disappear around the corner. At that moment his cell phone rang. "Hey Mase"

"Liam, where are you? The hospital yet?’’ He asked, urge in his voice.

"Yeah, still here. For now everything seems quiet. Have you found out anything?"

"Yes, mermaid. It's a fucking mermaid.”

Liam would have choked if he had something in his mouth. "A mermaid? Do you mean a real mermaid with a tail and scales?" He asked, unable to keep away his sarcastic tone.

"Of course not." Mason snorted "She's a sort of enchantress witch, charms her victims and makes them burn in the fire. Every mermaid comes from a dead woman with a desire for revenge, apparently ours has something against lovers"

"Great. We just really needed of the forty-year-old spinster who held a grudge against happy couples.” Liam rolled his eyes.

"She's not exactly a forty-year-old spinster," Mason said sarcastically.

"What?"

"We found out something from Parrish-"

"Are you at the police station? I thought you were going to Deaton."

"Not anymore, but we had to find out who the mermaid was, and the only way was to look for a woman who had died here in the last few weeks”

"Found something then?"

"Mm-mmh, her name was Judith Taylor, 28 years-old, found dead hanged in the office where she worked as a secretary"

"She killed herself?"

"From the investigations it seemed so, but judging by how things evolved, I think it was a murder"

"How can you be sure it's her?” Liam asked doubtfully. He looked up and down the hallway, confused for a moment. He thought he had heard something ...

"Well ... because she was the secretary of the first victim, Jeremy Hudson, the man who died the first night, remember?" Mason said.

"What?" Liam exclaimed in amazement, returning to focus on Mason's voice.

"A strange coincidence, don't you think? Parrish told us that the interrogations had revealed the suspicion that she had an affair with her boss."

"I thought he was married"

"Exactly. He probably killed her when he realized that she would become a threat to his  marriage. Maybe she expected that guy to leave his wife for her, or something like that ..." Mason explained quickly.

"Why didn't they arrest him then?"

"There was no evidence of any kind against him. This probably triggered the mermaid curse. That man has put his relationship and his feelings before her life, so now ... She seduces and kills the men in front of their wife's eyes, and then let them burn in the fire"

"Very nice." Liam rolled his eyes. "Wait till I tell Theo"

"Wait - Theo is not there with you?"

"No, he is looking for a vending machine" Liam answered rolling his eyes

"No no it is dangerous for you to separate now, that woman uses singing to attract her victims and-"

"Yes I know the feeling" Liam interrupted him, remembering the sensation of floating he had felt, and the desire to follow the sound to its source. "But why should it be a danger to us? That thing haunt down the couples, doesn't it?"

"No, she haunts down  _people in love._ "

Liam was confused. "What do you me-?"

"Liam, if you and Theo heard the song last night, and were attracted to it, it means it works on you too. Perhaps even more, given your overdeveloped hearing"

"Wait, what the hell are you saying? It's crazy, I'm not in lo-"

Liam snapped off, his head raising up. "Liam, are you there? Liam"

"I… guess she's here" he mumbled slowly, lowering his hand with the phone on his lap, staring at the end of the hallway, where Theo had disappeared. A slow song coming from afar….

"Liam! Hey, don't follow the song” Mason's voice shouted from the phone as Liam stood up leaving it there. "Liam, it's dangerous!  _Liam!”_

But he could do nothing but follow it.

 

*

 

Theo turned the corner and walked towards the vending machine, passing the woman's room. He caught the eye of the deputy standing outside the door. He took the coins out of his pockets, scanning the window carefully, then opting for a bag of chips. He slipped the money and pressed the corresponding buttons, watching the mechanism move ... and then get stuck. Theo cursed.

"Come on, holy bitch-" Theo weakly shook it. It didn't help. Then, he slammed his fist on its side, the metallic noise that echoed through the hallway. Still useless.

Theo turned to see if anyone had noticed, and saw that the deputy was no longer in his place. He furrowed his eyebrows, and started to turn back to his chips when he heard it. A song. He looked up abruptly, but suddenly it ended as it had begun. And a moment later the deputy was stepping out like a sleepwalker from the hospital room, marching towards the exit. Theo's eyes widened before he rushed to the door.

 

He winced when he noticed the woman bent over the victim. He didn't need to link the smell of anger to the smell in the burned building, to know that she was the responsible for the murders.

Without thinking twice, Theo growled in her direction, his eyes flashing dangerously gold. That immediately attracted the woman's attention, who turned to look at him, this time pretty annoyed that she had been interrupted again.

"Stay away from that woman or ..." Theo began.

"Or what?" She spoke, turning completely to him. Her voice was not threatening, more challenging.

Theo seemed to think about it. "I can't kill you because otherwise they would kill me, but I'll do something" he promised decisively. She laughed silky and approached slowly. "I know how you kill, your tricks don't work with me."

"Are you sure?" She said, her voice like honey, taking another step forward. Theo tensed. "Didn't they ever tell you that love is the most powerful weapon? Didn’t they ever tell you that feelings kill?"

"Well, good for me that I have no feelings" he muttered.

"Human beings are so foolish" she commented, breathing deeply before starting to sing. It was a melody, subtle, very similar to the one he had heard the night before. And just like then, he felt his brain like pausing. All around him became more muffled, slower. It was like being underwater, he felt light. He must have closed his eyes at some point. "Look at me" Theo jumped at the sound of that voice. It wasn't the woman's, it was  _Liam's_ . 

He opened his eyes right away, and where she must have been, now there was Liam. His blue eyes were bright, and his lips tilted in a gentle smile. And he was close. Too close, Theo didn't remember that they had ever been so much close. It would have been enough to raise his hand to touch him. It would have been enough to bow his head to place his lips on his. He had never realized how much he was dying to do that until then. So when Liam put his hand on his neck, using the grip to pull him close, dragging his lips on his in a hungry kiss, he let him do it. And he kissed him back, with the same urge although he felt that something was wrong. Something was seriously wrong ...

 

*

 

Liam stumbled slowly down the corridors, following that harmonious song. He knew it was dangerous, but he couldn't stop. When he arrived in front of a hospital room, the one where he had been lead, he turned to go in, but he stopped abruptly at the door. His breath caught in his throat.

In front of him was Theo and a young woman with auburn hair, wrapped in a hungry kiss. The woman held her hands on the chimera’s neck, while the chimera’s hovered on her hips, as if he were unsure whether to touch her or not.

Despite knowing that she was surely the mermaid, that Theo was in danger, although he knew he had no say in what Theo did and with whom, Liam could not prevent the wave of sadness and jealousy that hit him hard, while something heavy seemed to sink from his chest to the pit of his stomach. He knew he had to do something, but he was nailed to the spot. Unable to move. He had to be just a helpless spectator, waiting to burn like everyone else. 

"Liam!" Someone shouted loudly. Liam vaguely recognized Mason's voice getting closer to the room as he stared at Theo and the woman in a trance. However, the shouted name of Liam seemed to shake Theo up. He opened his eyes and his body tensed in the kiss, as if he had realized only now that he was kissing the woman. Suddenly Theo groaned in pain against her lips, his legs giving way slightly. Theo clearly felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if he were burning from within. 

"LIAM!" Mason shouted again, appearing from nowhere next to him and pulling him by the arm. At the same time, something invisible rushed against the mermaid that rolled to the ground. A few meters from her, rolling too, Corey appeared.

Theo slumped to the ground, as the spell broke. Liam blinked, confused. He looked first at Mason beside him, Parrish and the sheriff who had suddenly appeared behind him, then Theo barely conscious on the ground and finally Corey and the woman, who had just stood up.

Liam's expression crossed confusion, surprise, and finally anger from one to the other. His eyes glowed gold, and he growled at her.

"Stand back!" Parrish shouted. She took a step forward. Simultaneously Parrish and the sheriff opened fire, and four bullet holes opened up on the woman's chest. She staggered slightly, looking at her wounds a bit curious as they healed fast. Then she looked back at them, anger for having been interrupted again rolling out of her. She held out a hand, on which a sphere of fire appeared from nowhere. Liam growled again, and before she had time to use it, he threw himself against her, hurling her at the wall who cracked with a loud  _crack_ . The sheriff and Parrish stood by his side with his guns still out. Theo groaned from the floor, a grimace of pain on his face, and a hand gripping his stomach. As Mason joined him, the mermaid rose, and she too turned a surprised look at the chimera on the ground. "He's alive ..." she murmured, before looking at Liam.

"Surrender!" Parrish shouted. In response, she disappeared into thin air.

"What the hell-?" The sheriff cursed. Liam looked at the spot where she had disappeared with surprise, then jerked at Theo's last gasp. His eyes turned blue as he slid by his side.

"Theo! Theo!” Liam took his hand, in an attempt to take his pain away. The black veins had just begun to run down his arm, that he already felt a burning pain invade him, pain that disappeared almost immediately, when Theo freed himself from his grip. Liam looked at him shocked and questioning. "Don't.. do it ..." Theo groaned with difficulty. Liam vaguely heard the sheriff shouting Melissa's name down the hallway. 

"Let me help you," Liam whispered, his voice choked with panic. He had never seen such a suffering expression on Theo's face. "No, it's ... it's too much..."

"You're a stubborn idiot" Liam blew, crossing his eyes. Theo tried an amused snort, promptly suffocated by a groan and a grimace of pain. Liam panicked and looked at Mason. "What he has? He doesn't look hurt!"

Mason looked at him, his eyes wide open "His lungs are burned"

"What-?"

"He didn't die just because he's a chimera, his body started healing at the same time"

"So he's healing, right?"

"It is healing ..." Theo groaned "But ... it so damn.. hurt!"

At that moment Melissa ran in the doorway, bending over beside them. "Okay, now help me pull him up on the bed," she said, trying to stay calm, with a nod to the other bed in the room. Liam nodded and Mason made room for Parrish to help him, and went to stand next to Corey and the sheriff.

Melissa examined Theo's body, and then checked inside his throat by then passing the strobe on his chest.

"Damn" she cursed under her breath.

"What-what is it? ‘Damn’ doesn't sound good"

"Liam, I want you to get out of here"

"What-no!"

"Please, it's important" Liam hesitated a few seconds before nodding, but ir still had to be Mason to pull him out of the room.

 

Liam slumped into one of the chairs, putting his head in his hands, and Mason and Corey stood beside him without saying a word.

He hadn't been able to do anything. He was under a spell, it's true, but he stood there motionless, watching the boy he loved almost die. Liam thought he should have been surprised or shocked by the sudden revelation, but he noticed that he wasn't. Maybe he had always known. Maybe he had just been blind. Maybe it was just easier to ignore it than to deal with it. Perhaps now he could only pray that it was not too late.

 

*

 

A few hours later, Melissa finally left the room and walked towards them. Liam got up immediately to meet her. "So?"

She raised her hands to keep him quite. "It's all right, he's healing, slowly but he's healing. There was not much I could do, since the damage was internal, but I gave him the nine herbs to speed his healing. Now it's under sedatives. The pain will still be sharp for a few hours, at least until he almost regenerates himself."

Liam breathed a sigh of relief, falling back to his chair. Mason stroked his back with one hand, in a reassuring gesture.

"What do we do now?" Corey asked weakly.

The sheriff and Parrish had returned to the station to put out a arrest warrant for a dead woman who shots fireballs. It didn't seem to bode well.

"There will be a way to stop her" Liam sighed.

"She is immortal, she cannot be killed."

"Even the Anuk-ite had to be, and yet it had a weakness. Deaton said it was not possible that there was no. There must necessarily be it... for that matter of the cosmic balance, isn't it?” Liam muttered grimly.

"Maybe we could imprison her, like ... using the sword?" Corey suggested.

"We will not put the sword together again" Liam said immediately.

"And it would be useless" Mason intervened wisely. "If she can disappear, moving from one place to another, she probably can't be imprisoned anywhere."

"Great" Corey commented with a snort.

Liam looked at his two friends beside him. "How ... did you not become attracted to her singing when you entered here?" He asked curiously.

Mason put his hand in his pocket and then opened it in front of Liam with a half smile. Liam snorted. "Seriously? Earplugs?"

"That's the only thing that came to my mind. Deaton had them at the clinic” Mason said with a chuckle.

Liam imitated him "I think I'll have to buy some too" he said bitterly.

Mason studied him carefully. "Have you finally realized?" He asked then. Corey realized that it was time to leave them alone and he got up, muttering something about the bathroom, and walking away with a stroke on Mason's shoulder.

Liam sighed, throwing his head back into his hands. "How long do you know?" He moaned.

"I don't know, maybe when Scott sent me with Theo to the tunnels and you didn't protest, or probably when at the hospital, Theo took Gabe's pain and you looked at him like he was the most wonderful thing in the world" Mason snorted

"I didn't look at him like he was the most wonderful thing in the-" Mason glared at him. "Okay maybe I looked at him like he was the most wonderful thing in the world"

"And that’s the face you've been looking at him since then. When he laughs, when he studies, when he speaks ... when he breathes” he teased him then.

"So you make me look pathetic"

"You are, a little bit" Mason said. Liam gave him a slight nudge. Mason laughed with him. Then Liam sighed. "What should I do now?" He asked moping.

"Why are you moping now?" Mason asked confused.

"Well the spell worked with me because I'm in love with Theo. But it also worked on Theo. So also Theo is in love"

"Yes" Mason exclaimed 

" ..with that guy we saw him with the other day probably"

"No!" Mason buried his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his lap. "Liam, you're a dumbass”

"Hey, easy on me, I'm already pretty depressed here"

"Why are you depressed?" Corey interjected, returning with a can of soda in his hand. Mason stood up and joined him. "He's not depressed, he's just a moron." Mason put his hands on Corey's shoulders, leaving his head on his shoulder. "Help me, please" he groaned. Corey stroked his back comforting.

Liam looked at them confused. "I don't get it"

Corey and Mason sighed.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

  
 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay it's official, I can't control myself when I'm writing. So this is not the end yet, there's gonna be another chapter! ^^'


	4. Only He Could Do It

When Theo woke up, the first thing he felt was a terrible pain in his abdomen. He stifled a grimace as he blinked at the white ceiling of the hospital, trying to remember what the hell had happened. He remembered stepping in the victim's room and finding that  _woman_ in there. Then what happened next was really very confusing.

He tried to raise his right hand to bring it to his abdomen, but a light weight held it back. He stumbled hardly his head to look, meeting the sight of a sleeping Liam, his crossed arms on the bed on which he had laid his head, his fingers tightly wrapped around Theo's.

Theo's heart skipped a beat as the rest of his senses slowly reached him, finally feeling the slow and steady  _thump_ of Liam's heart beside him, the warmth to the touch of his soft skin and the faint acrid smell of anxiety and the salty one of dry tears. And the burning itch in his abdomen, a sign that whatever wound he had, it was healing. Not that it was important now. Because all he saw was the sleeping boy beside him.

Theo's eyes shifted from the hair that fell on Liam’s forehead, to his closed but flickering eyelids, surely ‘cause of a restless sleep, to those full and red lips, now parted. He forced himself to look at the ceiling, closing his eyes but unable to free himself from Liam's grip on his hand. Slowly, pieces from the previous hours came back together. He remembered the woman, her words, her singing, the feeling of floating, Liam in front of him, the pure happiness he had felt when he pulled him to himself and kissed, the disgust when he realized that - obviously, why Liam would ever wanted to kiss him? - it was just a trick, and then the pain,  _so much_ pain. He sighed heavily.

 

"You shouldn't be awake already" a husky voice said beside him. Theo opened his eyes to meet Liam’s now open and tarnished by sleep.

"Sorry, I'm going to be unconscious again."

Liam snorted, but loaded. "Don't be stupid" He rubbed his free hand over his face, sitting up, a grimace on his face surely for having slept in that uncomfortable position "Melissa had said you had to sleep at least until your lungs made right again"

That attracted Theo's attention. "What do my lungs have to do, excuse me, and I really want to know it?" He asked slowly.

"Well ... to cut it short, a mermaid literally almost kissed the hell out of you" Liam replied bitterly. Only then he did seem to realize he was still holding Theo's hand, and his eyes rested on them for a few seconds before letting go. Liam cleared his throat in embarrassment, looking around, before he had the guts to look at the other boy again.

Theo was staring at him. "Did you just say mermaid?" He asked then, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, quick review: Mason and Corey have found out that she is a sort of enchantress witch. Use her singing to seduce men and then kill them in front of their wives for some cosmic revenge ... " Liam rolled his eyes in a 'why us?' expression that Theo fully shared. "Apparently she was the lover of the first fire victim. There is no evidence, but Parrish is sure that he killed her, probably because she wanted to be more than a lover, but obviously his wife would never agreed that" he explained briefly.

"Probably not" Theo said, with a grimace of pain as he shifted slightly. Liam's worried eyes darted over him for a moment. "So what ...? Did she come back to life as a mermaid? Is this a thing?"

"Deaton says it's a curse triggered by strong negative feelings. So she got immortality, but apparently she will have to spend it destroying happy unaware couples"

"Mmh, a supernatural bitch practically"

"Something like that"

Theo rolled his eyes "God, what has our life become?"

"Are you just asking that now?"

Theo sighed dramatically "And how can we stop this thing?"

Liam shrugged dejected "We don't know. Mason and Corey have driven back to Deaton. Hoping to find something more"

"Great" Theo sank his head against the pillow, staring at the ceiling again. The hand instinctively rose to tighten the knit fabric over the abdomen to the nth thick. A low moan escaped him, and when he opened his eyes he clearly felt a strong smell of guilt coming from Liam. He turned to look at him, his eyes wide and surprised. "What's with you now?"

Liam looked at him like a deer in the headlights. "What?"

"Chimera, remember? I can feel you. My lungs will also be half charred, but my nose works very well"

Liam let out a low sigh that sounded a little like a growl, and bowed his head. "It's all my fault ... I could have done something, and now you wouldn't be like that"

Theo rolled his eyes "Bullshit. Actually I seem to remember that you fought her back very well before that bitch disappeared into nothingness"

"I mean first, while ...- " Liam stopped, unable to stop the blush on his cheeks.

Theo looked at him. "What?"

"Wh-while she was kissing you" he sighed then.

Theo also blushed slightly. "She wasn't kissing me," he insisted. "She was burning my lungs, and it wasn't nice at all"

"Don't joke, it could have ended very bad" Liam protested gravely, anger filtering faintly through his words "I - I could have done something, but I couldn't move because of that stupid song, it was like- I don't know-" He groaned in frustration

"I know what you mean, it was the same for me, it wasn't your fault" Theo assured him, looking for his gaze, while Liam did everything he can to avoid it. "But I quite don't understand, I - I was sure it wouldn't work on me when I faced her" he snorted angrily. "I thought Mason was right about that couple thing-"

Liam blushed again, but forced himself to look at him as he spoke in a small voice "It wasn't exactly right, apparently she can attract whoever is- uhm,  _in love_ " Theo widened the eyes as he looked at him, probably speechless for the first time since he knew him "That's why it worked on us too tonight ... and even a little while ago."

"Oh" Theo just said.

Liam shifted uncomfortably, looking down again. He found himself praying that Theo didn't want to go deeper into the conversation, now or ever. Never would have been perfect. Theo's rejection was something he would probably never be ready to hear.

Theo meanwhile was studying him, his eyes fixed on him. "So you-?" 

Scratch that. Liam's heart skipped a beat. Then there was a strong knock. Both boys looked up at the door, taken by surprise. The boy at the door gave them a weak smile, his fist still raised, while he lingered. Theo's expression hardened visibly.

"Nolan, what are you doing here?" Liam stood up taking two quick steps towards him to reach him, so relieved that he had been saved, ‘cause _that was close._

Nolan gave a shrug. "You weren't at the lacrosse practice, then I met Mason and Corey and they told me what happened" the boy said, shifting his eyes hesitantly to Theo.

"Theo, how are you?"

"Fine" Theo replied dry, without taking his eyes off the two. He had certainly not missed the relief dripping off the wolf when he had seen the other boy, and only that thought caused him a strange pang at the stomach that had nothing to do with his charred lungs, he could swear.

Theo looked down at the ground. He had always been jealous of Nolan, sometimes perhaps even unmotivated. Probably just because he had made him understand that he, Theo, wasn't Liam's exception. But that Liam was generous, understanding and protective with anyone, friends, former enemies, former hunters or former manipulative chimeras. It was just the way he was. He was a good person, unlike Theo. But now, to hear Liam admit between the lines of being in love with someone, and then see him run smiling and relieved to Nolan ... it was painful. Perhaps more than his charred lungs. He would have given anything to get back to before this whole story started. When he was unaware of his feelings, when his only problem was his stupid additional exams and at most Liam snoring from the room next to his by not letting him sleep.

 

Fortunately the providential arrival of Melissa saved Theo from further assisting at the meeting of the two guys. The woman in fact drove them away quickly, stating that she had to do some checks to the chimera to be ‘ _sure everything was alright’_ . Theo could not help thinking that nothing was definitely alright.

 

*

 

As they walked through the corridors, Liam briefly told Nolan the situation. The boy stared at him with wide eyes. "Do these things happen to you a lot?"

Liam rolled his eyes "More often than we would like. But we will fix it, well ... we always do it” He gave a shrug, in an attempt to reassure more himself than Nolan.

"I'm sure of it" the other muttered. "I mean, you saved the city a lot of times, didn't you? From .. that Anu-thing ..." Liam snorted amused "From Monroe ... from me ..."

"You have nothing to do with them, Nolan" Liam exclaimed at those words. "You were just scared. You shouldn't blame yourself"

"You shouldn't justify what I did. I can not do it. I feel guilty ... every single day"

"You know ... that's the difference. You ... and also Theo ... you made mistakes, but the guilt and the need to fix it is what makes you different from Monroe or anything else I've ever faced. Maybe it is not always enough ... but it is a good point to start over."

Nolan looked at him for a moment before smiling "Maybe you're right"

"I'm always right" Liam joked giving him a pat on the shoulder as they arrived at the entrance. Liam's eye fell on Melissa standing behind the desk. He looked at her confused before approaching. How did she get there before them?

"So how's Theo doing? Is it everything all right?” He asked immediately. She looked at him surprised.

"I should ask you, you've been stuck to him all this time" she joked

Liam's confused expression just deepened. "But you pushed us out of his room to check him just right now ...?" His voice faded as panic made its way into him.

Melissa's eyes widened in confusion. "No, Liam, I haven't seen him since I gave him the nine herbs three hours ago, I haven't visited him, I haven't moved from her since then-"

She hadn't finished talking yet, that Liam had already taken a run long through the corridors. "Liam, wait!" Nolan shouted after him, following him.  _It couldn't be-._ ..

 

*

 

When Melissa closed the door behind the two boys, she turned to Theo. "So how are you feelin’?"

"I’m… not feeling" Theo replied, with a grimace, to the nth pang of pain.

"Every other person would have died. You should be happy” she said curtly, pulling the IV off his arm. Theo winced in the brusque way, gritting his teeth. He knew she didn't really like him, but she could be a little kinder at least. “Yeah can’t you see how much excited I am?” he muttered snarky

Melissa ignored him "I would say you can even go now"

Theo didn't exactly agree, he didn't try, but he knew he'd have trouble getting up for probably a few more hours. He didn't say anything though, while Melissa turned around, flanking the bed where the unconscious woman still lay, the respirator on her face connected to a machine. Melissa remained motionless to look at her for a few seconds, before gently placing her hand on the machine. There was a sizzle, which caught Theo's attention. The chimera opened his eyes when the machinery caught fire. "What are you do-?"

Melissa turned, her eyes brightening of the color of fire. "Shut up" she ordered. Theo found himself unable to get his voice out. When he tried hard to get up, ignoring the pangs of pain, she gave him a lopsided smile "Don't move" Theo fell back on the bed "You don't want to make your wound worse, do you?" she added in a sugary voice, turning back to him. Theo, unable to move or speak, feeling the panic and anger boiling in his blood, while his heart pumped fast, could do nothing but look at the one thing that kept the person lying next to him burning inexorably. He knew it was over, that she had finally stopped breathing, when the monitor on the other side of the bed emitted a long beep, the heartbeat coming down to 0.

 

He turned to look Melissa back upset. Her figure seemed to flicker as she slowly resumed the appearance of the mermaid. She approached him, leaning over his paralyzed body. "You must be wondering how I could do it" she said softly. "I can manipulate the minds of my victims, I can make them do whatever I want, and I can let them  _see_ whatever I want" Theo felt his claws instinctively come out, even though he was still unable to move. She looked at them curiously, before returning to face him. She laughed "Don't worry, I won't kill you." She gently stroked his cheekbone. "I will not miss the chance to keep someone like you with me. Someone who can't die. You know, eternity is a long time to spend alone" She pulled herself up and looked at him, making her eyes shine again "Get up" she ordered. And Theo could do nothing but obey, despite the pain piercing through him.

He stifled a growl, and then his eyes widened when he heard running footsteps outside the door.

"We have visitors" she murmured with satisfaction as the door burst open revealing Liam's golden eyes and fangs outside. "Stay away from Theo" he growled, jerking forward. She laughed. He didn't even have time to take two steps, that she put her hand on the chimera's shoulder. "Come and get me, if you can" she just said with a challenging tone, disappearing with Theo into nothingness, just as Nolan and Melissa appeared behind him.

Nolan looked at the empty bed then at the lifeless woman, then averting his gaze, grieving. Melissa, her lips tightened, the shocked expression, marched into the room, with the fire extinguisher in her hand - that she had taken from the corridor probably - turning off the fire. Both then turned to Liam. "What now?" Nolan asked. Liam gave a muffled sound, bringing his hands to his face. "I don't know ... I don't know" he said hopeless.

 

*

 

"This is such a fucking mess" was Mason's comment to Liam's report of what had happened at the hospital.

"Yes, I know, this doesn't help us, Mase" Liam commented in an attempt of sarcasm, which did not completely hide the anxiety in his voice. "Please tell me you found something" he added pleadingly.

Mason and Corey looked at each other from their seat on the couch in the Geyer’s house, then back at Liam sitting in the chair. Mason sighed. "We found nothing about the mermaid, nothing new at least. But ... " Mason bit his lip.

“What?” Liam spurred him

"Here, it's just my theory," Mason moved forward, to the edge of the sofa, leaning toward Liam.

"If it doesn't imply trolls again or strange unmentionable beings, I'm willing to listen to it" Liam said urgently. Corey snorted amused beside him. Mason glared at him before returning to Liam. "So, I thought about what the Bestiary says, and I think the point of the question here is the  _curse_ "

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, she's not like all of you. It’s not a genetic mutation, it's a curse. It's a kind of eternal torment.”

Liam was confused. "Said like that it looks like she's the victim here."

"In some kind of way ... she is."

"Mase ... she's killing innocent people for no reason, and she'll keep doing it forever. If there is an eternal torment here, that’s her"

"Yes ... but she is like stuck in a limbo. Forced to repeat for eternity the same dynamics that led her to death. Being the spare wheel, just ‘the other woman’, unloved, the same burning grudge to endure forever ... the only difference is that in life she was the one to die, now instead it’s the others"

"Okay .. but .. " Liam sighed impatiently "I don't see how this helps us"

"Listen to me, I searched about curses. And I found something. If the mermaid’s thing is really a curse, the only way to destroy her is to break it"

"Great, yeah, I break curses every day" Liam snorted.

"Will you stop being a sarcastic ass and listen to me? You look like Theo.” Mason rolled his eyes, getting up and starting to walk up and down in front of them

"The two most famous curses are the ghosts persecution of someone" Mason raised a finger "and the time spirals" He raised a second finger.

"What the hell is a time spiral?" Corey asked, confused.

"A time loop." Liam mimicked Corey's confused expression "Like in the movie Groundhog Day" Mason rolled his eyes.

"Ahh" the two said in chorus.

"Both are triggered when a wrong or atrocious thing is committed. The ghost disappears if the object of his hatred dies, or if it voluntarily decides to forgive and move on. A time spiral breaks if the person who suffers it can remedy it during one of the loops."

Corey and Liam now had an absorbed expression, as if they were beginning to put all the pieces together. "Okay ... so how does the mermaid's curse break?"

"Deaton says the mermaid feeds his immortality with the suffering of couples, feeds with betrayed feelings and pain. Without them, she would return to ash"

"Okay so we catch her and tie her up until she dies of hunger" Liam suggested 

"She can move anywhere she wants" Corey reminded him.

"We set a trap for her using someone who is not in love to get close enough and-"

"Liam, she knew what you felt before  _you_ knew it, how do you think you can fool her?" Mason snorted.

"Okay" Liam groaned. "Do you have a better plan?"

"There is no plan to do. The solution is obvious." Mason rolled his eyes." The only way to break the curse is for her to meet a couple whose bond is stronger than her seduction. Exactly- "

"What happened when she was alive." Corey completed.

"What caused her first death," Liam realized, widening his eyes.

"And that will make her disappear again"

"Wait wait - How could someone counter her singing? It is-" Liam exclaimed dejected

"But you did it. The other night you said you wanted to get up and follow it, but you didn't." Mason joined his best friend, and sat down next to him.

"Just because Theo stopped me-"

"And how?"

"He just called my name, and he grabbed my hands ... He don-"

"I did the same at the hospital. I called your name a thousand times, grabbed you by the arm, hard, but nothing happened. And I'm your best friend. This means that only Theo could do it."

Liam swallowed, lowering his eyes to hide that they were watery. Mason put a hand on his shoulder.

"You're so deep in it, dude." Corey chose that moment to comment, shaking his head sympathetically.

"You don't help here, babe" Mason commented.

"You're right" Liam mumbled, running a hand over his eyes. "I am. I love him. I'm in love with Theo. I didn't even think I could ever feel so much in need of someone.” Liam stood up. Mason and Corey looked at him from below. Liam's expression became more determined. "Let's go"

"Where?"

"Looking for Theo. And bring him back home. This time I will not allow her to even touch a single hair on his stupid pretty head.” Liam moved decisively toward the front door, Mason and Corey behind him.

"Wait, how do you think to find them?"

"I will follow Theo’s smell. I'm a werewolf, right?”

Mason and Corey looked at each other. "Do you think you can do it?"

"Hell, I could smell Theo among a million other smells at any time. Here we go"

 

TO BE CONTINUED

  
 


	5. The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is the final chapter! Sorry for the wait, it's always so hard to write down the ending of a story. I want it to be good, so I keep rereading again and again. Hope you like it!

"Do you smell anything?" Mason asked for the millionth time probably.

"No" Liam narrowed his eyes as he looked around the crowded street. "Man, why does everything stink so much?" He moaned.

"You've been a werewolf for over two years, and you only notice it now?" Corey snorted.

"I usually tend to block smells, you know ..." He grimaced "The first weeks after the bite were horrible ... and now-" Liam gave a half-growl "All I can smell are the mints that you have in your pocket"

"I have no mints in my pocket" Corey put his hands in his jacket. He widened his eyes "Yes, I have mints in my pocket"

"God, give me one" Mason exclaimed

"I wouldn't do it if I were you, I think they have been there since last winter" Corey warned him with a sardonic smile.

"Ah"

"Guys, focus" Liam complained "It's been over an hour since Theo was kidnapped, and we can't find anything- and why are we walking again?" He exclaimed in frustration

“How did you suppose to track a scent in the car?" Mason scolded him "Anyway, I know you're worried. We all are, but I don't think she's going to kill Theo, at least not now"

"How can you be so sure?"

"When she saw Theo survive her attack, she seemed surprised. Perhaps she thinks she has found another immortal like her. Maybe she feels lonely and just wants to keep Theo with her for the eternity...-" Mason fell silent when he met Liam's eyes, which flashed between blue and yellow, a growl stuck in the back of his throat. "Okay no- you're right, she definitely wants to kill him." Liam growled again.

"Stop it" Corey broke in "Liam is right, we have to focus." He then turned to the wolf. "First you said she talked to you before she disappeared with Theo and said something like "Come and get me" right?"

Liam nodded "Yes so what?"

Mason bit his lip, thinking. "Maybe she wants you both in the same place"

"Well that's how her trick works, doesn't it?" Corey agreed.

"Maybe she thought she was in a place where we could easily find her ..." Mason reflected. He paused a moment, his eyes on the ground, before shooting up to look at the other two. "Wait a moment, the attacks were three in total, right? And excluding the one at the hospital who only meant to finish the job, all the others occurred in the same places"

Liam opened his mouth to protest, but Corey was faster. "They all happened at home, do you mean?"

"Yes, maybe it's part of the spell. You know, home is symbolically the family, the bonds, isn't it?"

"But Theo has no home. The only thing he has is his pickup." Corey muttered.

"You're wrong" Liam protested seriously. "Theo has it, a home." Then he looked at Mason. "Do you think that-?"

Mason nodded. "It's the most likely lead."

Liam cursed, speeding up his pace. "Damn, it's on the other side of the town!"

Mason and Corey were following him on the heels, when a flashy red car braked just ahead of them. The three stopped, while Nolan's face appeared on the window. "Do you want a ride?" He asked with a grin.

"Oh God, yeah" Mason exulted as they strode to the car.

Nolan turned to Liam beside him as the boy put on his belt. "Where?"

"My house"

*

Liam watched from the rearview mirror Mason and Corey fumbling with something. When Corey reached out to him, he saw that they were two earplugs. He took them slowly, looking at them gloomily.

"I don't think these will work for me" he muttered, looking at Mason through the mirror.

"Why not?" Corey asked stumped.

"Wolf hearing. Two earplugs will not be enough to block it" Liam replied quietly, closing his fist on them. Then he looked at Nolan beside him. "Here" He held his fist in his direction. Nolan glanced at him quickly before returning to the road. "Why are you givin’ to me?"

"Because you will need them more than me"

Nolan made a funny face. "Why do you think I will need them?"

Liam remained impassive, his fist still raised, waiting for Nolan to hold out his hand. "At the hospital. She manipulated us to show herself to us as Melissa. It worked for you too.”

Nolan sighed, and then he gave Liam another quick look. "I don't think I will need them. I don't think she can use that person against me in any way."

"What do you mean?" Corey asked from behind, looking then at Mason who had clenched his lips, as if he had just realized something he didn't know. Liam also looked at Nolan, his face impassive, but with a shadow of anguish behind it.

"Because that person is no here anymore" Nolan replied sadly. Corey swallowed, exchanging glances with Mason. Nolan then looked at Liam with a half smile, holding out his hand so that Liam placed the earplugs on it. "Thanks" he said. Then he looked back at the road, speeding up. "Let's go save Theo, I probably owe him"

*

When Nolan pulled up in front of Liam's house, the group got out, Liam in the lead. The wolf glanced at his friends "Stay behind me. If things go wrong, I want you to run."

"We won't, but okay" Mason replied. Liam gave him an exasperated look, before turning and walking cautiously towards the front door. He immediately realized that it was only ajar. He pushed it with one hand, and the door creaked slowly on the empty entrance.

He could distinctly hear two slow, steady beats coming upstairs. Liam nodded his head, and the group cautiously went in single file, studying their surroundings. Liam pointed the ceiling with his finger to show that they were upstairs, heading towards the stairs.

"Liam" Mason suddenly exclaimed shocked. Liam stopped and turned to look at him. His face was pale and upset and he was staring at a point beyond the dining room. Liam followed his gaze. When he saw his mother on the ground, her eyes closed and motionless, he felt all the air disappear from the room, and the floor fell from underneath. "Mom" he mumbled.

In a blink of an eye, he was kneeling beside her. He put an arm under her neck, lifting her slightly and shook her from her shoulders. "Mom! Mom!” Mason, Corey and Nolan had joined him in a flash. "Wake up, Mom,  _please_ .”

Mason, hesitantly, reached out to take her wrist. Liam looked at him anxiously for what seemed like minutes, but it was probably only three seconds. Mason released a relieved sigh. "All right, it seems ... she’s just sleeping"

"We can't leave her here alone" Corey murmured

"I'll take care of her" Nolan offered.

Liam looked at him hesitantly for a second. Then he nodded "Okay, get her out of here ..." he stopped, thinking "Take her to the hospital, for safety. Look for my father"

Nolan nodded, and bent down to take the woman in his arms. "Be careful, guys" he said nervously before leaving.

"What do we do?" Mason whispered.

"I will find her and kill her for putting my mother in the middle" Liam growled, his eyes glowing golden, leaping to his feet and marching toward the living room door. He stopped a few paces away when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He stepped back, waving to Mason and Corey to stay away. Liam got into a fighting position.

Until Theo appeared on the threshold. Liam jumped, but relaxed. "Theo!" He exclaimed with a sigh. "Are you okay?"

"Er Liam - I don't think he's okay" Mason observed faintly from behind him. Liam frowned, looking first at his best friend and then back to the chimera. His body was stiff, his expression blank and unlit, and he was still. Liam took half a step forward "Theo, wha-?" He froze when the mermaid appeared behind Theo, stroking his shoulders with one hand and flanking him. Without taking her eyes off Liam, she put her lips on Theo's ear with a seductive tone. "I told you, honey, they would come to us"

Liam growled "Stay away from him, what the hell did you do to him?"

She laughed. "I'm only helping him to express his true nature" Then she added sourly: "All men are liars, treacherous and traitors. They talk about love, but they put their own interests, their own salvation ... before anything else. They'd sell their partner to the devil just to save themselves"

"Just because it happened to you, doesn't mean it's like that for everyone" Mason protested.

"And yet, how many of the men I attracted let themselves be seduced? How many wives remained motionless to watch them die? Ah right...  _all of them_ "

"Not this one.” Liam stepped ahead. “This time you won't be able to charm me. Do you know why? I don't care if it hurts, I don't care if I'm jealous” Liam snorted. "What _I_ feel is not important right now, what matters is that Theo is alright, that he is safe ... and he won't be if I let you control my mind"

The mermaid clenched her lips, crossing Liam's eyes and making her glow, red as embers. Liam flashed his golden eyes in response, deadpan and determined. This time he would not give in.

She looked impressed, and studied the beta with watchful eyes for a few seconds. Then, a sardonic smile tilted her lips. Liam widened his eyes, wondering what was on her mind now, his body tensed for a possible attack.

She leaned back toward the chimera’s ear. "Theo" she whispered softly. "Help me, it's me ... Liam" The three boys started at those words, their eyes widening. "It's him, he’s the mermaid" she continued in a soft voice. "She took my form. Kill her, and we'll all be safe.”

Theo's body seemed to regain its flexibility as he raised his golden eyes, his fangs out, to Liam, who took a step back.  _He had not foreseen this._

"Theo, wai-" Liam didn't have time to talk that Theo tackled him, making him fly for a few meters through the hall.

"Theo, stop, that's not the mermaid, it's Liam!" Mason shouted, as he and Corey tried to get between him and Liam on the ground. But the mermaid raised a hand, and a thin flaming line rose from the floor almost to the ceiling, dividing the two from the couple. Corey almost ran into it "What the hell-?" He swore, turning to look at Mason "What do we do now?"

"I don't know, let's hope Liam has a plan" Mason muttered flustered.

Corey eyes widened "We are dead"

Liam pushed himself on the forearms to stand up. "Theo, don't listen to her, I’m Liam! She's manipulating you!" In response, Theo growled, hurling himself back at the wolf, grabbing him by the shirt and pushing him against the wall. Liam gasped at the violence of the impact, striving to maintain control and stay in human form. He didn't have to fight. Perhaps it was the worst plan he had ever had in his life, but after all he was now famous for his suicidal plans.

So when Theo raised his fist, he let it clash against his nose. He gasped again as Theo hit him twice. This time he felt his nose break audibly.

"Liam!"

"What the hell-? Why is he not reacting?" Corey shouted, looking at Mason staring at the fight with wide eyes. "And why don't you look worried?"

"I am, but ... I have a theory ..." Mason snapped "And I think it's the same as Liam. And right now I can only hope not to be wrong!"

Corey turned upset towards the two, just as another punch definitely made Liam fall to the ground, the blood trickling from his nose. Theo growled again, leaping over him, straddling his lap, clasping his hands against the wolf’s neck. Liam gasped for air, but tried to keep the visual contact with the chimera. "Theo" he gasped. "You ... won't kill me ... like this... you know.." he grumbled with the best tone of challenge he managed to bring out in that situation.

It was true, the only way Theo knew was what Deucalion had taught him months and months before. Theo growled again, releasing his grip on Liam's throat, which coughed, before Theo punched him in the face again. Then the chimera raised his right hand, claws out, and with a sharp gesture put them in the wolf's stomach. Liam groaned as his vision blurred. "Theo ..." he muttered.

In the moment the pain began to pass from Liam to Theo, the black veins crawling on the chimera’s arm, Theo's eyes seemed to glow white for a moment, before his face contracted by a blind fury gave way to a confused and shocked expression.

His body tensed, and he immediately tore off the claws from the beta stomach. Liam coughed again, before slumping to the ground. "Liam!" Theo exclaimed , panic dripping off his voice, his face mixed with confusion and anguish. He knelt beside him, raising his head to the ground, his eyes moving frantically from the wound to his bloody face, his eyes terribly closed. "Liam, wake up!" He called again.

Mason and Corey were dumbfounded watching the scene, not knowing whether to rejoice because Theo had broken the spell or despaired because it could be late for Liam.

"What does all this mean?" The mermaid swore, watching Theo bent over the beta, as baffled as him.

"It means you just lost, my dear" Mason reproached her from behind the flames. She made a guttural sound from the bottom of her throat that sounded so much like a growl, taking a step towards the couple on the ground.

"You, I order you to finish what you started, kill him!"

Theo turned abruptly, his golden eyes flashing in her direction, his fangs in plain sight. "Shut up, you bitch. Or no matter what the others will say, I will kill you with my own hands.”

She started a step back, an outraged expression, as if the idea that someone opposed or resisted her was something completely foreign to her. Actually it was.

"Okay, if this is what you want, then you will die together" She held out a hand in front of her, a ball of fire quickly formed on her palm, then ... vanished into thin air. She looked astonished at her hand. "What's going on?"

Mason and Corey jumped as the flames that prevented them from moving dropped considerably. "Hell, Mase, you were right, she's losing her powers" Corey exulted.

Mason turned around, frowning in his direction, "Did you have any doubts?" He asked suspiciously

"No, of course not" the chimera said hurriedly.

Theo meanwhile continued to hold an unconscious Liam. "Why isn't he healing? Mason, why isn't he healing?” He asked, his voice full of despair.

"Triggers his healing" Corey suggested. "You have to take his pain"

Theo moved his eyes slowly, from Liam's face to his hands. "I only did it once, I don't know if I can"

"You can do it" Mason encouraged. "I told you you can't take pain if you don't care, remember? I know you care about him, Theo."

In response, Theo swallowed, clutching Liam's left hand with trepidation and closing his eyes.  _Let this work ... it had to work ..._ "Liam, open your eyes,  _please_ ..."

The wave of pain that pervaded him took him by surprise, making him jump and making his eyes open wide, meeting the sight of black veins that slowly went up his forearm. Theo let out a half smile. "Come on, wolfie, you can do it" he whispered. He could still hear his slow but steady heartbeat, his weak breathing and his sweaty and cold skin to the touch. He could also feel the tears burning on the sides of his own eyes, ready to go out.  _It was his fault. He had done this_ . He could never forgive himself for hurting Liam among all the people ...

Then Liam coughed, his beating quickened and he gasped, taking a breath. The cuts and bruises on his face and broken nose seemed to heal instantly, leaving behind only trails of blood. Theo released a sigh of relief and a smile, as he could see Mason and Corey hugging in the corner of his eye.

"Hey, wolfie" Theo greeted him. He would have denied it later, but as he smiled at the boy below him, a tear eventually escaped his control, wetting his cheek.

"Hey, asshole" Liam gasped, his lips tilted with a smile.

Theo released a snort that came out definitely between a laugh and a sob. "You are ... a real idiot" He tightened his grip around his neck and lowered his head, until he laid his nose in the wolf's hair. "I could have killed you, I—" His voice cracked. "Why didn't you react? Why did you let me attack you?"

"I could never hurt you. And I knew neither you would do it, Theo. You stopped when you felt my pain"

"How could you be so sure? You idiot-" Theo raised his head again to look at Liam, his face slowly regaining color, while his stomach wound healed slowly.

"All you have done since you came back has been saving me. From everything, even from myself. Hell, you didn't even want me to take your pain because it was ‘too much’! I knew you would never hurt me … that you would have stopped"

"Liam-" Theo choked "You-"

"Yes, you think I'm an idiot, maybe you're right, I got it, now shut up" Liam said, rolling his eyes "I trust you, Theo" he added softly "I know who you are, you ... you're my anchor" He smiled at him.

"Okay, this is very moving, but we'd still have a little problem here guys" Mason called them. Theo helped Liam sit up, still kneeling beside him, facing the mermaid, which at that moment seemed to literally be smoking from anger.

"It's not possible, nobody can oppose my singing" she growled.

"We can and we will do it" Theo replied with a grin. "I won't let you manipulate me to hurt anymore. I've been pretty enough manipulated for all my life. And now that everything is finally going for the best, now that it seems to me that I have found my place ... I will not allow any random woman to destroy it"

"The same" Liam agreed with a grimace of pain "I have already thwarted your singing once - thanks to my anchor - " He addressed a genuine smile to Theo, who felt his heart skip a beat "And I will do it again and again, for eternity if necessary. You won't have us.”

She growled again, her eyes flashing like embers. "I'll kill you all" she shouted angrily. She raised a hand again in front of herself, perhaps to try again to summon another one of her balls of fire. But something on her hand distracted her. Because she remained motionless to stare at it.

Staring at the long flaming cracks that began to line her skin. She turned her hand to follow them with her eyes, a bewildered expression on her face. Even the four boys jumped when the same cracks appeared on her face, forearms, chest and every other inch of bare skin visible to their eyes. She raised her eyes, again red as fire towards them, the expression contracted by anger, or perhaps by pain, an enraged "NOO!" coming out of her lips as her entire body exploded engulfed in flames. And nothing was left of her.

At the same time, the fire barrier that blocked Mason and Corey vanished, as if it had never been there.

"Wow" Corey sighed, eyes wide.

"That was intense" Mason muttered, the expression similar to his boyfriend’s.

Theo watched the spot where the mermaid had disappeared in shock. "What the hell happened?" He asked, eyes wide. Right, he didn't know anything.

"You broke the curse" Mason replied with a smile. "You managed to break her seduction, and this broke her deal for the immortality"

"But ho-I thought it was impossible"

"It's a long story" Liam hastened to say, with a grimace of pain at the abrupt movement.

"No it really isn't" Mason said, raising an eyebrow. "You two are-" Mason's voice choked under Corey's hand that had shut his mouth.

"Okay we are going to tell Nolan that everything’s all right and we care about your mom. You two, talk.  _Please_ ” Corey said, rolling his eyes, and pulling Mason away by the arms, who was still grumbling in Corey's fingers trying to speak. Theo and Liam stood watching the couple awkwardly coming out the door.

"I didn't understand anything" Theo said, looking at him.

Liam shrugged "Welcome to my world"

*

Theo helped Liam climb the stairs, the wolf's arm on his shoulders as he encircled his waist. When he had helped him lie down, he sat on the edge of the bed next to him. The chimera phone vibrated and pulled it out of his pocket. He let out a relieved sigh, before looking at Liam. "Your mom is fine, Mason says she woke up when we broke the curse. Ah, and he says she looks pissed."

Liam sighed. "This time we won't get away with it." Then he grimaced as he rested his head against the pillow. Theo looked at him, pursing his lips, he couldn't help feeling guilty about what had happened.

"Stop it" Liam snorted.

"What?"

"Wolf, remember? I can feel you. I will also be injured but my nose works very well" Liam said with a sardonic smile, imitating the words that Theo had said to him just that morning. "It's not your fault. You were under a spell. And I'm already healing, do you see?" Liam lifted his shirt, showing the now almost healed wound.

Theo gave a shrug, his face still contracted in a guilty grimace. "I still think it could have ended badly. Did I already tell you that you are an idiot?"

"A couple of times, I think" Theo kept avoiding his gaze, however, focusing on the wound on his stomach "Hey" Liam called him softly, and Theo tentatively raised his eyes. His heart throbbed in his chest when he met Liam's eyes, more blue than ever, his lips tilted with a slight smile. "It doesn't matter what you did while you were being manipulated, it matters that you had the strength to fight it and do the right thing at the end." Theo wasn't sure Liam was just talking about the mermaid, and he felt his chest tighten. "Thank you" he muttered at last. "You saved me again"

Liam shrugged. "I'll have to save you for another hundred times to be even, right?"

Theo laughed lightly. Smile that faded slowly, as he met Liam's eyes again. He swallowed. "Did you really mean it before? When ... did you say that I am your anchor?"

Liam blushed slightly, but nodded. "Yeah ... you have been for a while. Si... since the zoo, probably"

Theo widened his eyes almost in disbelief "Really?" Then he looked down again "How?"

"I don't know. I just know that you are the one keeping me in control, the one who keeps me sane."

Theo shook his head in frustration. "I don't think it's a good thing to have someone like me as anchor. Why-"

"It's not something I can choose, you know- "Liam said, amused, pulling himself sitting

"Yes, but why me among all the people?" Theo protested.

"Stop with this story, I've already told you that I trust you now." Liam shouted exasperated

"You shouldn't! Why should you do it?!"

"Because I love you, you asshole!" Theo had raised his voice to the point that Liam screamed to cover his.

Silence fell. Liam's eyes widened as Theo started to look at him, the same expression of a deer in front of the headlights. "What?" He breathed weakly, his voice weak and choked.

Liam had already decided he would never tell. It was not his intention to do it. But he also knew that it would be almost impossible to keep the secret now that he was so deeply aware of it. Moreover, even though his feelings would never be reciprocated, Theo deserved to know that there was someone who really, really loved him.

Liam knew he was blushing from head to toe, and he fixed his eyes on his hands folded in his lap, faintly repeating, almost resigned "I love you, Theo" Theo's heart was literally about to come out of his chest of its own free will this time, as he looked at the boy in front of him, his hands twitching, his eyes moving around the room, never resting on him, probably in search of the right words. "I know ..." Liam continued slowly, trying to hold back tears and keep his voice steady. He didn't need to add humiliation to the nearly coming rejection. "...that you don't feel the same about me ... and you'll probably be telling me again that I'm an idiot ... and I know ... I know you’re going out with that dude of the library ..." he couldn't hold a bitter frown at the mention of that guy "... but you had to know. You.. matter to me, Theo"

Theo's expression meanwhile went from incredulous to confused "What?" He repeated again with a whisper. He noticed that it probably sounded like a broken record because he quickly shook his head and then said "I am not going out with him"

Liam finally lifted his head to look at Theo, just as confused as him "But last night-"

"He's my tutor" he said quickly.

"What?" This time it was Liam to blow it out in awe.

"He is my tutor. The principal assigned me to help me prepare all those recovery exams. We just saw each other to study"

"Wh-why didn't you say it right away?!"

This time it was Theo's turn to blush, and Liam felt his heart fluttering at the sight. "I ... I guess I wanted to provoke a reaction in you"

"What do you mean?" Liam asked more confused than ever

"I wanted you to think I was out on a date"

"And why would-?"

Theo rolled his eyes "I wanted to make you jealous, you idiot!” he spat then. "I thought you liked Nolan!"

_"What?!"_

Now Theo also seemed about to catch fire at any moment like the mermaid. Then Liam laughed. "Mason was right" he said. "We're just two idiots."

"Hey, who did you just call idio- _mph_ " Theo's words were choked by Liam, who pulled him from his shirt, made their lips clash abruptly. It was short and messy, more like a headbutt, actually. Theo pulled back, eyes wide, before realizing that this was really happening. Liam looked at him with big, blue eyes, a faint blush on his cheeks and lips still parted. "Sor-"

This time it was Theo who silenced him, throwing himself forward and catching his lips between his, pushing him gently back against the mattress, and straddling him. He cupped his hands on Liam's cheeks, deepening the kiss, while Liam, after only a moment of hesitation. squeezed him by the sides pulling him closer.

An eternity seemed to have passed, when Theo pushed away a few inches, Liam slightly raising his head to chase his lips. Theo smiled sardonically. "By the way ...." he blew on his lips. "I love you too ..." His grin widened ".. _wolfie_ "

Liam rolled his eyes in exasperation, before pushing him hard on the shoulder making him fall off the bed. Theo fell into a messy pile with a dull thud. Liam chuckled.

"Stop pushing me out of the bed" Theo snorted annoyed, lying with his back to the ground.

"You stop being an asshole, and call me  _that_ " Liam said

"Aww, you're cute when you're angry,  _wolfie_ " Theo continued sardonically from the floor.

Liam looked down at him over the edge of the bed "Do you think I'm cute when I am angry? Well, get ready then because I'm about to get gorgeous!"

"Too late for that-"

Liam looked confused, before Theo reached out to grab his shirt, pulling him down from the bed and directly on top of him, making their lips collide again with a snap. Liam remained paralyzed, his eyes wide open, only for a few seconds before melting into the kiss. He closed his eyes, pressing his lips on Theo’s, the tongue that made its way to caress them, Theo who instinctively opened his mouth. With one hand the chimera encircled Liam's neck, pulling him even closer if possible, and the other on his side, the fingers caressing the fabric of the shirt, until it was lifted. Liam groaned against Theo's lips when he felt the warmth of the chimera's hands on his skin, a shiver that ran through his spine. He gasped, separating their lips a few millimeters, his eyes still closed, his head turning, dizzy. He gasped, his heart pounding, beating in sync with Theo's beneath him, and he slowly opened his eyes, only to meet Theo's eyes already staring at him, an adoring expression and a small smile on his face.

"Wow, that was hot" Liam muttered breathless

Theo's smile widened. "Do you think this was hot? Wait and see, then" he said defiantly. Liam did not have time to reply, his eyebrows furrowed, that with a flick of his hips, Theo reversed their positions, pinning him to the ground, and choking his protests with another breathtaking kiss. Liam wrapped his arms around the shoulders of the chimera, holding him tight. He groaned in protest when Theo let his lips go, immediately replaced by a sigh when Theo turned his attention to Liam's neck, placing two light kisses on his pulse, and then sucking a spot on his collarbone. Liam drew back his head panting "Theo"

He felt Theo's lips tilt into a smile against his skin, before leaving another bite. Liam gave a slight growl "Asshole" he mumbled, grabbing Theo by the shirt and pulling him into another desperate and messy kiss. It was so breathless that they broke apart after a few seconds to regain air. "That's enough. Bed. Now" he growled.

Theo laughed against his lips, tentatively rolling his hips against him "Eager, eh, wolfie"

Liam growled, pulling him back from the back of his neck for another messy kiss. He moved his hands towards the hem of Theo's shirt pulling it up to lift it, when ...

_"Ah-hem"_

Theo and Liam turned their heads towards the door, their bodies still petrified in that position. They had not even noticed that someone had entered the house. So much for the overdeveloped senses!

"Um ... hi, Mom?" Liam tried.

She looked at them with a frown, a sardonic expression on her face.

"Okay," she said quietly. "Four things. One. Why does our living room smell of burning? Two. Why did the strange woman Theo brought into the house send me ko, just talking? And why? And three." She looked at them curiously, sighing "With all the comfortable flat surfaces in this house, what the hell are you doing on the floor?"

"Mom!"

"And the fourth?" Theo asked

"Ah nothing, I just wanted to congratulate with Liam, because I was really beginning to fear that I had grown an idiot"

_"Mom!"_ Liam repeated even more shocked. Theo laughed.

She ignored him. "Then." He folded his arms. "Are you planning to answer?"

"Probably not" they said together.

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you planning to get up?"

Theo and Liam looked at each other, both aware of their small problem down there. "Probably not" they answered again

"Great" She rolled her eyes, before turning around and walking away

"Where are you going now?" Liam shouted after her, still from the floor.

"I need a drink, go ahead, it was fucking about time!"

Theo laughed, looking back at Liam who had buried his face in his shirt. "This was embarrassing" the chimera commented.

Liam looked at him "Welcome to my world" Theo laughed again, while Liam dragged him back into another kiss.

 

THE END.

  
 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone who read my story. Hope you enjoyed it! Let a feedback, positive or negative, your comments really make my days! See you in the next one!


End file.
